Prince Charles Says Understands British Climate Campaigners' Anger

LONDON (Sputnik) – The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, said on Monday he understood the anger of campaigners who take to the streets to urge governments to take urgent actions against climate change, but he said their actions must be "constructive" as blocking roads "isn't helpful".

"I totally understand the frustration, the difficulty is how do you direct that frustration in a way that is more constructive rather than destructive", he said in an interview broadcast by the BBC just three weeks ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Prince of Wales, 72, also said he sympathised with young climate activists such as Swedish student Greta Thunberg, who recently dismissed global leaders' promises to address the climate emergency as "blah, blah, blah."

"All these young people feel nothing is ever happening so of course, they're going to get frustrated. I totally understand because nobody would listen and they see their future being totally destroyed", he said.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and other climate protesters gather for a protest against climate change in front of the Swedish parliament building in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 18, 2021.

© AFP 2023 / HENRIK MONTGOMERY

After stressing that "the problem is to get action on the ground," Queen Elizabeth’s elder son admitted he was also worried that world leaders would "just talk" at the upcoming climate summit.

Environmental campaigners have warned that COP26, which is scheduled for 31 October - 12 November, could be the last chance for developed big-polluting countries to deliver meaningful and binding commitments to cut emissions and achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global heating increase under the limit of 1.5C.