Prince’s green legacy

FOR 50 years the Prince of Wales has been a crusader for environmental protection – a passion which has often seen him scorned by the chattering classes.

His views on modern architecture, GM food, homeopathy and sustainable agriculture have brought him into sometimes bitter conflict with vested interests.

But once an outlier, some of his ideas are now mainstream. Yesterday he announced an ambitious charter, aimed at restoring biodiversity, cutting emissions, promoting regenerative farming and green jobs.

Most significantly, it is backed by big business, philanthropists and hard-nosed financial investors, many of whom would once have given him a wide berth.

Indeed they include BP and Heathrow, normally more associated with polluting the planet than repairing it. Persuading them to help him in his mission to ‘harness and preserve natural capital’ is a considerable achievement.

After half a century of striving, this ‘Earth Charter’ could define his legacy.