William quizzed on future as king, but says focus for 2050 is net zero emissions
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The Duke of Cambridge has sidestepped a question about potentially being king by 2050, saying his focus for that year is achieving net zero global carbon emissions.
Second in line to the throne William was interviewed for BBC Newscast ahead of the inaugural awards ceremony for his Earthshot Prize.
Newscast presenter Adam Fleming asked the duke: “We always talk about the net zero by 2050.
“Now, in 2050, there’s a very high chance that you will actually be the king then.
“Is it the done thing in your family to think about that moment and that being the case?”
William replied: “I think 2050 is locked in my head for the net zero, for targets and things like that. That’s what we’re all working towards.
“If we haven’t tackled some of these issues by 2050, then it’s going to be not a fun year to be around.”
William was speaking to BBC Newscast on BBC Sounds in the run-up to the UN Cop26 climate change talks in Glasgow at the end of the month.
Cop26 is the deadline for countries to bring forward more ambitious plans, under a five-year cycle, to get the world on track to meet the Paris goals.
The 2015 Paris Agreement commits countries to keeping temperature rises to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit them to 1.5C – beyond which the most dangerous climate impacts will be felt.
For Cop26 to deliver the action needed, countries must have plans to significantly cut the greenhouse gases driving global warming by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050.
