Prince William plans to create a ‘major global environment initiative’ in 2020

For some reason, I’ve just been reminded of the late-summer shenanigans with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s flight to Scotland to visit the Queen. Remember that? William and Kate set up a little photoshoot as they exited their “budget flight” to Scotland and Kensington Palace made sure to throw the Sussexes under the bus in the midst of the media outrage for Harry and Meghan’s private jet usage. Days later, we learned that the Cambridges’ budget flight stunt involved two large, empty planes being flown across the UK to ensure that a certain Flybe plane would be featured in the photoshoot. I was reminded of that story because the initial outrage was about “the environment” and how dare Prince Harry try to speak about environmental concerns when he flies on private jets sometimes. Nevermind that all members of the royal family fly on private jets and private helicopters all the time.

Well, guess who’s suddenly interested in becoming a major environmental activist? You guessed it, it’s stunt queen Prince William and his budget flight shenanigans. William is apparently about to become a major mover and shaker in environmentalism. Either that or we’re just being keen-baited by the Cambridges again.

The Duke of Cambridge has held talks with influential figures including Bill Gates and Hillary Clinton as he plans a major ‘global environment initiative’. The Mail on Sunday understands that Prince William will launch the project next year and has been canvassing opinion on what can be done to combat climate change.

A source said: ‘He has been chatting to a lot of people about the environment and what needs to happen with a view to work out how best he can bring about change. These are the type of people to talk with to help on a global scale because if you want to evoke change in this area, you have to do it globally. Next year is going to be a big year for the environment. There are lots of things happening and he wants to be part of it.’

Former US Secretary of State Mrs Clinton is a vocal supporter of initiatives to fight climate change, some of which she championed during her unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2016. Mr Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, and his wife Melissa recently pledged £236 million towards an initiative to help small farmers around the world adapt to climate change. Jody Allen, chief executive of the Wild Lives Foundation and sister of the late Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft, has also talked with William on the topic. Dr Andy Clements, chief executive of the British Trust for Ornithology and a board member of Natural England, said he had discussed the environment at length with the Prince.

[From The Daily Mail]

I’ll be nice for a moment and note that I believe both William and Harry care about conservation and the environment. Those are issues both princes have worked on, to varying degrees, for years. This is not a new keenness. It’s also not a new thing for William to attach himself to work being done by other people. It’s also not a new thing for William to take credit for work being done by other people. So what is new here? I think it’s William’s sudden need to have a big, defining “thing” associated with his name. And it will be interesting to see if there is any follow-through. It will also be interesting to see if the British papers crawl up his royal arse if and when he, say, flies on a private jet or, you know, takes a ride in that royal helicopter the Queen gave him because he couldn’t be bothered to take the train to Sandringham.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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