Prince Charles: My heart is heavy at the anguish of those who lost loved ones in Paris attacks

Prince of Wales pays tribute to victims of ‘unspeakable atrocities’ and hails ‘human values’ at start of UN climate change conference
Key speech: Charles at opening of COP21
AFP/Getty Images
Robert Jobson30 November 2015

Prince Charles today paid a personal tribute to the victims of the Paris terror attacks, as he joined world leaders in the French capital for the UN climate change conference.

The Prince of Wales, in France to collect a top award for his environmental campaigning, spoke of the “unspeakable atrocities” carried out by Islamic State terrorists who slaughtered 130 innocent people.

Speaking in the heart of Paris, he said: “I can only begin by saying how heavy my heart is at the dreadful anguish suffered by those who lost their loved ones in the unspeakable atrocities of two weeks ago and how my deepest sympathy and solidarity are with the French people.

“Against a background of such inhuman violence and terror, it is almost impossible to talk sensibly about matters of everyday civilization.

“Yet that is what I propose to do, because in the face of such awfulness it may help to be reminded of the simple and timeless human values that lie at the heart of our society.

Royal meets Royal: Prince Charles greets French ecology minister Segolene Royal at the UN climate change conference near Paris today
EPA

“Timeless values such as sustainability, cultural identity, community, health and taste — intangible things that nourish body, mind and the human spirit — are more important than pure convenience or soulless efficiency.”

The prince delivered his speech partly in English and partly in French. Collecting his award, a medal, he said: “I have spent many years, and a good deal of breath, extolling the benefits of working with nature — harnessing positive forces through healthy soil, healthy crops and healthy animals, to provide healthy food for people.”

He was at the Institut de France where he received the Prix François Rabelais from the Fondation européenne pour le patrimoine alimentaire for his commitment to organic farming and environmental protection.

Earlier, Charles joined David Cameron and nearly 150 other world leaders at the opening of the UN conference on climate change, known as COP21.

Major roads into the capital have been closed since yesterday with about 2,800 police and soldiers guarding the conference venue near Le Bourget airport, north of Paris. Another 6,300 officers are deployed in the city, which is still reeling from the onslaught by Islamist gunmen on restaurants, a concert hall and the national football stadium on November 13.

Charles, in Paris until tomorrow, addressed the opening session of COP21. In his keynote speech, he echoed Sir Winston Churchill on the Battle of Britain, saying: “Rarely in human history have so many people around the world placed their trust in so few. Your deliberations over the next two weeks will decide the fate not only of those alive today, but also of generations yet unborn.

“So I can only urge you to think of your grandchildren, as I think of mine, and of those billions of people without a voice; those for whom hope is the rarest of sensations; those for whom a secure life is a distant prospect. Most of all, I urge you to consider the needs of the youngest generation, because none of us has the right to assume that ‘for our today they should give up their tomorrow’.”

He added: “On an increasingly crowded planet, humanity faces many threats — but none is greater than climate change.

“It magnifies every hazard and tension of our existence. It threatens our ability to feed ourselves; to remain healthy and safe from extreme weather; to manage the natural resources that support our economies, and to avert the humanitarian disaster of mass migration and increasing conflict.

“In damaging our climate we become the architects of our own destruction. While the planet can survive the scorching of the earth and the rising of the waters, the human race cannot.

“To avoid catastrophe we must restrict climate change to less than two degrees, which requires a dramatic reduction in carbon emissions. This can be done. We have the knowledge, the tools and the money — only 1.7 per cent of global annual consumption would be required to put us on the right low carbon path for 2030.”

He added: “If the planet were a patient, we would have treated her long ago. You, ladies and gentlemen, have the power to put her on life support, and you must surely start the emergency procedures now.”

Tomorrow Charles will deliver another speech on global efforts to protect forests. But many leaders will spend only a few hours at Le Bourget before leaving their national delegations to pursue more detailed discussions. In all, more than 40,000 people are expected to attend the two-week conference.

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