Will Charles III be our new climate King?

As the nation starts to adapt to the passing of the monarch and the reign of Charles III, there are many questions about what this change means for Britain and how the new king will govern. Of particular interest is how Charles III will reconcile his lifelong commitment to campaigning for green issues with his new role? Will Charles III be a climate King?

It’s important to note the King’s history with green issues – as a Prince, he took advantage of a somewhat looser freedom to draw attention to climate troubles and advocate green solutions. In 1970, the, now-King, spoke out about pollution and the damage done to rural habitats – it was a speech received at the time as “completely mad”, but those warnings have since proven rather prescient. He developed a passion for farming, and his interest in regenerative organic agriculture led to the founding of the Duchy organic brand. He established the Prince of Wales Corporate Leaders Group, which encourages business leaders to sign up to green pledges, and he has published his own carbon footprint for years.

He is possibly the most significant environmental figure of all time

–Tony Juniper, a former chief of Friends of the Earth and now head of Natural England

In recent years, he met with Greta Thunberg, took part in COP26 in Glasgow, and he has openly supported Extinction Rebellion. It is little surprise, then, that so many environmentalists praise the King. “He is possibly the most significant environmental figure of all time,” says veteran environment campaigner, Tony Juniper, a former chief of Friends of the Earth and now head of Natural England. “Considering the breadth of the issues he has sought to make progress on, and the consistency with which he has done that. For more than 50 years he has shown commitment, energy and passion. He has incredible depth of knowledge and his impact has been absolutely enormous.”

With the new king’s accession to the throne, there are now questions about what he could do to continue to promote and support climate-related causes. His late mother was famously determined to avoid advocating her own politics or political positions, and it may be that Charles III decides to follow suit. There is a convention that the monarch should not interfere in the UK’s political decision-making, or take any overt political stance, and it is probable that this is what the King will do. Jonathon Porritt, former head of the Green party and Friends of the Earth, made clear that any green rhetoric would stop once the former Prince of Wales became Britain’s new ruler: “There was never a shadow of a doubt that anything he did, in convening or some would say campaigning, he was absolutely clear that as soon as he inherited his role, that was it.”

For more than 50 years he has shown commitment, energy and passion. He has incredible depth of knowledge and his impact has been absolutely enormous

–Tony Juniper, a former chief of Friends of the Earth and now head of Natural England

However, it is not a given that the King will keep away from these issues. He has previously been criticised for overstepping the bounds of constitutional monarchy, by making a number of speeches over the years that have been fed as the now-King inserting himself into political issues. In the mid-80s, Charles III made a speech asking about the dumping of sewage into the North Sea, which was poorly received by then environment secretary Nicholas Ridley. In 2015, we saw the release of the ‘black spider memos’, a series of letters in which Charles III privately lobbied the government about a range of issues, a story that attracted major concerns across the political spectrum.

There was never a shadow of a doubt that anything he did, in convening or some would say campaigning, he was absolutely clear that as soon as he inherited his role, that was it.

–Jonathon Porritt, former head of the Green party and Friends of the Earth

Assuming the King remains publicly silent on the issue, and this is probable given his recent toned-down public rhetoric, that does not mean he lacks an avenue to promote his interests. Traditionally, the monarch meets with the prime minister for a strictly confident conversation once a week, and Charles III could air his concerns and ideas there. Technically, the King has the constitutional power to refuse to give royal assent to climate laws he did not like, but that is almost certainly not going to happen. There’s the ability to use other members of the Royal Family to promote issues that matter to the King – Prince William has taken up some work on rainforests and species conservation, for example – as well as using his diplomatic power as monarch to communicate with key players in the energy transition.

There are those who suggest that climate change is above party politics, and thus the monarch should not be bound by rules of neutrality. As stated by Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese: “I think dealing with the challenge of climate change shouldn’t be seen as a political issue, it should be seen as an issue that is about humanity and about our very quality of life and survival as a world. I think engagement in issues is very different from engagement in party political matters. That would be entirely inappropriate.”5 Whether or not Charles III agrees with that particular argument, expect that climate issues will be at the heart of his reign – perhaps not as overtly as it was when he was Prince.