Prince Charles urges Commonwealth leaders to create a sustainable future

Prince Charles has urged Commonwealth leaders to unite in a bid to create a more sustainable future.

The 73-year-old prince told leaders at the Sustainable Markets Initiative in Rwanda – including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame – that they must work together to tackle sustainability issues.

He said: “If we can commit to being bold in our ambition – but more importantly in our action – the Commonwealth, as one of the world largest ‘common markets’, has a real opportunity to lead the world in the right direction.”

Charles launched the Sustainable Markets Initiative in 2020 in a bid to accelerate the move towards a sustainable future.

The future monarch now has more than 300 chief executive officers from around the world “wanting to contribute to accelerating the world’s green economy”.

But, he added: “They cannot do this without your help.

“To move forward at pace and scale we need to be clear on the enabling environment and the demand signals so that industry and investors know where to go, be it for renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, sustainable aviation fuel or regenerative agriculture.”

Meanwhile, in another meeting of Commonwealth leaders, Charles admitted that efforts to fight malaria have been undermined by the COVID-19 crisis.

The prince – who has been acting as de facto head of the Commonwealth as Queen Elizabeth no longer travels overseas – made the comment during a summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases at the Intare Conference Centre in Kigali.

He explained: “As we emerge from the pandemic, 2022 must be a turning point.

“Post COVID-19, the world is paying greater attention to infectious diseases, and we must capitalise on this to provide proper support to prepare for, and respond to, infectious disease outbreaks.

“Largely due to COVID-19 pandemic there remains a great amount to do if our ambitions are to be met.”