The Prince of Wales discussed the matter with the author of The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood, as she interviewed him in a guest episode for BBC’s Radio 4 Today program.
He told Atwood, “I had to face a great deal of push back, if I may say so,” discussing his initial efforts to highlight the effects of climate change on the planet.
Charles, who began talking about climate change as early as the 1970s said “nobody really wanted to know at the time.”
“I think they thought I was completely dotty,” he notes at one point in the pair’s conversation.
“The trouble is that, as human beings, we tend to get carried away by new technologies of convenience. I don’t think the consequences are perhaps thought about.”
The Prince of Wales continued: “I don’t think the consequences and the collateral damage of these introductions are always perhaps thought about,” launching into a detailed discussed of “nanofibres” and “nanoparticles” impact on the planet.
“That’s led now to all these microplastics in the oceans and elsewhere, and the environment,” he says, adding: “I remember at the time reading about these new technologies.”
The senior royal, who has previously gave the keynote address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, suggested we need to “find a balance” between environmental protection and technological advancement.
“You need to look at what these technologies are going to do in the long-term,” he said.
The senior royal continued to discuss the Sustainable Markets Initiative that he had launched in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF) following the conference in Switzerland, which marked his first in appearance in almost 30 years.
This initiative brings together leading international figures from the private, public and philanthropic sectors to find ways to rapidly decarbonise the global economy and make the transition to sustainable markets.
A palace spokesperson said: “The prince sees this as a year of action, so this is about building those coalitions, bringing together people to try and find the solutions that we all need”.
“The prince has long thought that it’s the private sector that will really solve this problem, and that governments can create the right conditions but it’s going to be the private sector, international corporations and international investors who can really change the course that we’re on.”
The Prince of Wales previously warned that the planet has reached “a tipping point, at which we still have the ability to change course, but really only in the next 10 years… after which there may be no going back” during his New Zealand tour last year.