At last month’s COP28 climate summit he told world leaders “The Earth does not belong to us” and warned that in 2050 our grandchildren will have to live “with the consequences of what we did or didn’t do”.
In the annual Christmas Day speech, King Charles again helped to raise awareness of the urgent need to live more sustainably, with the world facing both a nature and climate crisis.
He also showed his humanitarian view.
“Over this past year my heart has been warmed by countless examples of the imaginative ways in which people are caring for one another — going the extra mile to help those around them simply because they know it is the right thing to do: at work and home; within and across communities.”
Adding to the last Christmas message, he said it was “with the true humility that lies in our service to others, that I believe we can find hope for the future”.
Colonialism here and elsewhere, based on a system of oppression, has facilitated the exploitation of natural resources on a large scale. Throughout the developing world, including New Zealand/Aotearoa, this has been a severe environmental injustice which spawned and continues to exacerbate the climate crisis.
On King Charles’s visit to Kenya two months ago, his first to a Commonwealth country since his accession, he expressed his “greatest sorrow and deepest regret” over colonial atrocities committed by British forces in Kenya. He also faced unprecedented calls for the UK to offer an unequivocal apology and reparations for colonial atrocities.
About 500,000 Kenyans from the Kipsigis and Talai communities were violently evicted from their ancestral lands under colonial rule, according to UN experts. Huge tracts of their land, given to British settlers, were developed into the vast British-owned tea plantations. Today, generations of the dispossessed Kipsigis and Talai communities continue to live in poverty.
Some say atrocities persist, citing recent alleged rights violations by British army units training in Kenya, including murder, sexual abuse and environmental damage.
I commend King Charles for bravely speaking out. Kenya is but one of many countries England has colonised — and more than apologies from royalty are needed to put it right.
However, King Charles III has spoken out about his climate and environmental concerns for more than 50 years. As a leading climate advocate, he is a beacon of hope. And as reigning monarch, in his Christmas Day speech, he said: “I am pleased to see a growing awareness of how we must protect the Earth and our natural world as the one home which we all share . . . we need everyone — especially our politicians — to do more to help safeguard our planet.’’
Go for it King Charles, I am with you.
