King seeks to learn from energy bosses before ‘green’ state visit
‘The meeting is a chance for the King to receive some background briefing to improve learning’
THE KING is to have a private meeting with energy industry bosses this week in an effort to reinforce his knowledge on clean energy such as wind farms and hydrogen.
He will hear from senior industry figures including Bernard Looney, the chief executive of BP, sources say.
One royal source indicated the meeting was in preparation for the King’s state visit to France and Germany, which is expected to focus on green energy and the environment. But it could cause controversy if he is considered to be intervening on political matters such as the shift to net zero.
The source said: “It is a chance for the King to receive some background briefing to improve learning ahead of the state visit.”
The six-day trip, starting on March 26, comes months after reports that the monarch, who has championed environmental causes for decades, abandoned plans to attend the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt on advice from Liz Truss, then the prime minister.
The meeting with energy bosses is believed to form part of the “Sustainable Markets Initiative” launched by the King in 2020 to bring private and public sector leaders together to cut carbon emissions and help the environment.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2020, the then Prince of Wales called for greater subsidy for green industries and more punitive taxes on pollution. Before the Cop26 conference in Glasgow in 2021, he implored world leaders to get on with tackling climate change.
On his accession last September, sources indicated he would continue to champion the environment, although he would “highlight” rather than campaign on the issue.
He has continued in that vein, launching a new environmental warrant, the Terra Carta Seal, giving the world’s most sustainable companies the royal seal of approval.
The King will be hosted by presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Frank-Walter Steinmeir of Germany. In a phone call between the monarch and Mr Macron in September, the French president “signalled his full willingness” to continue the work they have done together, “starting with the protection of the climate and the planet”.
BP is diversifying into wind farms, solar panels and hydrogen, but Mr Looney has recently slowed the company’s plans to cut its oil and gas production, citing the importance of energy security in the current global crisis.
Other companies believed to be attending the meeting include Storegga, a UK-based carbon capture developer.