Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have pledged Archewell will go net zero by 2030, hours after the Queen didn’t mention her grandson the Duke in her intensely personal COP26 speech.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are currently living in their $14 million mansion in California, shared a mission statement on their Archewell foundation website today.
The couple will work with an ‘independent consultant to track all Archewell-related activities’ from inception to ‘understand our collective footprint’.
Last night, the Queen failed to mention Prince Harry in one of her most personal speeches ever at the opening of the global summit to discuss action on climate change.
Her Majesty addressed world leaders with a powerful plea where she praised Prince Philip and gushed over Prince Charles and Prince William for carrying on her late husband’s work to protect ‘our fragile planet’.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have pledged to go net zero by 2030, hours after the Queen didn’t mention her grandson the Duke in her intensely personal Cop26 speech
The Queen praised William and Charles – but not Harry – as she urged world leaders to ‘earn a place in history’ and ‘to rise above the politics of the moment in her address to leaders at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow last night
Posting on Archewell today, Harry and Meghan commented that they have ‘actively made choices to offset and balance their carbon footprint’ but that ‘nearly every activity in daily life results in the release of carbon into the atmosphere’.
They added that they will be looking at ‘what they eat’ and ‘how often they eat it’ as well as their commute and use of heating and electricity in order to cut down their footprint.
Referencing COP, where world leaders and senior members of The Firm have met this week, they said: ‘As global leaders convene for COP26 to commit to solutions for our climate crisis, all of us at Archewell, led by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, share our pledge towards a more sustainable future by becoming net zero by 2030.
‘Our co-founders, Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have a long-standing commitment to the planet, both together and prior to their union, with global projects and partnerships dating back over a decade.’
Posting on Archewell today, Harry and Meghan commented that they have ‘actively made choices to offset and balance their carbon footprint’ but that ‘nearly every activity in daily life results in the release of carbon into the atmosphere’.
They added they would be working with an independent consultant to track internet use, commutes, and electricity in home offices with the hope of going net zero by 2030.
They added a link to netzeroclimate.org which explained how to go ‘net zero’.
The website explains: ‘Net zero refers to a state in which the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by removal out of the atmosphere.
‘The term net zero is important because – for CO2 at least – this is the state at which global warming stops
The monarch, who was speaking via video, also paid tribute to Prince Philip and described how ‘ the impact of the environment on human progress’ was a subject close to the heart of her ‘dear late husband’ as Charles, Camilla, William and Kate poignantly watched on the screen (top right of picture)
Charles also recently spoke of his pride for William’s work on the environment but made no mention of Harry who quit royal duties and Britain in 2020 to move to California with Megha
The statement was released hours after the Queen refused to mention her grandson in a deeply personal speech at the COP26 conference.
Royal watchers have said the decision not to namecheck her environmentalist grandson while addressing COP26 last night was a ‘glaring’ omission because the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan have been very vocal about green issues.
In a pre-recorded message for delegates in Glasgow last night, Her Majesty spoke with unusual candour of her pride in her family and their stance on the environment – from ‘my dear late husband’, the Duke of Edinburgh, to her son the Prince of Wales and grandson the Duke of Cambridge.
The Queen said: ‘It is a source of great pride to me that the leading role my husband played in encouraging people to protect our fragile planet lives on through the work of our eldest son Charles and his eldest son William. I could not be more proud of them.’
She included a poignant nod to her advancing years, saying many involved in the Glasgow summit – including herself – would not see the fruits of their actions, adding: ‘None of us will live for ever.’ But she stressed: ‘We are doing this not for ourselves but for our children and our children’s children, and those who will follow in their footsteps.’
Her praise for her son and grandson came just days after Prince Charles spoke affectionately in public about William – but again failed to mention Harry – as he said: ‘I am very proud of my son, William, for his growing commitment to the environment and the bold ambition of The Earthshot Prize’.
As his relationship with his British family remains strained because of repeated potshots from the US, Prince Harry and Meghan have also been vocal about the need for action on climate change but are yet to give a statement as politicians and business leaders gather in Glasgow to thrash out a deal.
The couple have also been branded hypocrites for their use of private jets as well as their recent decision to publicly and financially back an ‘ethical’ Wall Street fund that invests in oil and gas.
In Ma, Harry declared it was ‘pretty depressing’ that children were growing up in a world where their home country was ‘either on fire or underwater’, insisting that climate change must be tackled ‘at the source’.
Speaking to Oprah Winfrey for his AppleTV show, the Duke said: ‘I know lots of people out there are doing as best they can to try and fix these issues – but that whole sort of analogy of walking into the bathroom with a mop when the bath is over-flooding, rather than just turning the tap off’.
The speech comes as Prince William urged world leaders to ‘think differently’ and make the ‘impossible, possible’ in an impassioned speech at the COP26 summit.
The Duke of Cambridge, 39, who cut a stylish figure in a smart black suit adorned with a poppy, noted the urgency for people to ‘think differently’ if the battle against global warming is to be on its way to success within a decade.
The royal’s speech took place during the World Leaders’ Summit ‘Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment’ session of the summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
It comes just a day after the Queen’s powerful video message which highlighted the need for world leaders to put aside division and act now for the sake of ‘our children’.
Taking to the stage, Prince William challenged world leaders to push even harder in a bid to stop devastating floods, fires and heatwaves and said: ‘If we are to achieve our goal to repair our planet in what is now less than a decade, it is our shared responsibility to continue thinking differently, acting boldly, and making the impossible, possible.’
During the reception, guests heard as the Queen issued a rallying cry to world leaders attending COP26 urging them to work together in ‘common cause’ to tackle climate change and ‘solve the most insurmountable problems’. William, Kate, Charles and Camilla are pictured watching the speech
Prince William cut a dapper figure as he attended a meeting between The Earthshot Prize Winners and finalists and several members of the Earthshot Global Alliance in Glasgow on Tuesday morning
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