Charles’s 16,000 air miles in just 11 days ...before he proudly posed with Greta
PRINCE CHARLES was last night facing embarrassment after taking a series of private jet flights while lecturing world leaders about climate change.
On a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, the Prince met activist Greta Thunberg and used an electric Jaguar car to travel to the Swiss resort.
But the MoS can reveal that in the 11 days before his high-profile appearance, Charles took three flights on private jets for official Government business and one on a helicopter. After his speech last
Wednesday, during which he urged world leaders to take ‘bold and imaginative action’ on the environment, he took a fourth jet to Israel for an official trip.
Taking into account an additional five so-called ‘empty-leg’ flights required to collect the Prince, his jet and helicopter travel totalled more than 16,000 miles in less than a fortnight at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of £280,000. Last night, a Clarence House spokesman said: ‘Global travel is an inescapable part of the Prince’s role as a senior member of the Royal Family representing the UK overseas. When he travels he does so at the request of the British Government. He does not choose the destinations any more than he chooses the means by which the journeys are undertaken.’
According to the Paramount Business Jet calculator, which lets passengers work out their carbon emissions, the air travel will have emitted more than 162 metric tons of carbon – 18 times an average Briton’s annual total. Muna Suleiman, of
Friends Of The Earth, said: ‘Climate targets can’t be met without cutting pollution from aviation emissions, and private jets are a particularly wasteful way to travel.’
But a Royal source said: ‘The Prince has been campaigning against the dangers of global warming for 50 years. As soon as there is a more efficient way of travelling, bearing in mind all the factors involved, he’ll be the first to adopt them.’
The string of flights began on January 11 when a Bombardier Global Express flew 944 miles from Austria to collect the Prince who was at his Birkhall residence on Deeside. It flew him to Muscat, where he paid his respects on behalf of the Queen following the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said. Palace aides said the trip was organised at less than 12 hours’ notice.
Last Wednesday, the Prince flew 750 miles by private jet from Scotland to Switzerland for the Davos summit. Later that day he travelled 1,740 miles to Israel. Officials said a private jet was chosen for security reasons and the Prince only accepted the Davos invitation because it was on the way to Israel.