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British RoyalsKing Charles III

Prince Charles wears Amazonian necklace to deliver major COP26 speech

The Prince of Wales has addressed world leaders at the COP26 climate conference for the second time, speaking at the World Leaders Action on Forests and Land Use Event. He gave his speech while wearing a unique gift. 

Prince Charles met with a delegation of Indigenous leaders representing 24 different nations with tropical rainforests from the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities. The Ecuadorian representatives in the group, Juan Carlos Jintiach and Tuntiak Katan, presented the Prince with a brightly coloured necklace made by local women. 

He wore the necklace while delivering his speech to world leaders, activists, and business leaders. In his remarks, Charles highlighted the dangers of deforestation and what leaders must do to reverse and halt it. He also discussed Indigenous land rights, a contentious in the Commonwealth and without. 

“Now that we know what the problem is and having done my best to test the world’s destruction in the meantime, we simply must talk about the solutions and the actions we can start making, and start taking, today.

“The first action, I would suggest, is to re-engineer the world’s financial and economic system to disincentivize deforestation and reward countries and communities for the protection of their forests and the pursuit of a forest-positive economy.  We will hear from leaders in the financial sector with ambitious plans to achieve this goal…

“The second action, the world needs as a real matter of priority and justice, is to safeguard and honour the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities who depend on the forests for their lives and livelihoods, and who are themselves wise and experienced custodians. In fact, I’m wearing what I was given earlier when I met them, and this one comes from Ecuador…

“The third important action we need to take is the implementation of an acceleration of a serious global shift in how we produce and consume goods – decoupling this production and consumption from further loss of forests and other vital ecosystems. I am therefore delighted we will be joined by leaders committed to shifting to new and more sustainable practices in this area. There is every hope that we can build a more circular, resilient, economy, which is better for people as well as for the forests on which we all depend.”

The Prince of Wales has long been dedicated to environmental causes for all of his adult life. His Terra Carta plan, released in January 2021, is a framework for businesses to use to develop and use sustainable practices. 

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