In his previous incarnation as Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, our new monarch, King Charles III, was not averse to the use of greenhouse gas emitting private jets and helicopters. Earlier this year, before he became king, the Telegraph told us that “Prince Charles took more than 20 private flights within the UK ‘to avoid being stuck in traffic’”. Furthermore:

…the annual Sovereign Grant report revealed that he took several flights during the last financial year, including hopping between engagements in Northern Ireland and Wales and a 70-mile trip from London to RAF Brize Norton, in order to catch a charter flight to Jordan.

The Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall also appear to have flown separately to Wales by helicopter from their respective homes, Highgrove in Gloucestershire and Ray Mill in Wiltshire.

The couple took more than 15 charter flights, including to and from Belfast, and multiple journeys from residence to residence – including Glasgow to Northolt last July and Northolt to Marham to Aberdeen in December.

It comes as the Duchy of Cornwall, the Prince’s landed estate, outlined its ambition to reach net zero carbon by the early 2030s.

The question is whether confusion will continue to reign now that he is king. Perhaps it will, since confusion seems to extend to the Government too. Just three days ago the BBC told us that “King Charles will not attend climate summit on Truss advice”. We were reminded:

At last year’s COP26 conference, King Charles – or Prince Charles as he was then – was one of the star turns, delivering a passionate call for world leaders to adopt a “war-like footing” over climate change.

I’m not sure what a war-like footing amounts to, but whatever it is, it obviously doesn’t extend to being stuck in traffic jams when you can fly over them in a helicopter or in a private jet instead.

Whatever. Today we learn that “King Charles should attend climate summit, COP26 president says”. So, will he go? Will any UK head of state go?

Ms Truss has not said whether she will attend COP27, suggesting that the UK may have neither a head of government nor a head of state in attendance.

Meanwhile, apparently, “COP27: Activists ‘baffled’ that Coca-Cola will be sponsor”.

Campaigners told the BBC the deal undermines the talks, as the majority of plastics are made from fossil fuels.

Coca-Cola said it “shares the goal of eliminating waste and appreciates efforts to raise awareness”.

This year’s COP27 UN climate talks are hosted by the Egyptian government in November in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Egypt announced it had signed the sponsorship deal last week.

At the signing, Coca-Cola Global Vice-President, Public Policy and Sustainability Michael Goltzman said: “Through the COP27 partnership, the Coca-Cola system aims to support collective action against climate change.”

But opposition to the decision has grown over the past week over Coca-Cola’s links to plastic pollution. Climate activists are accusing the company of “greenwashing” and more than 5,000 have now signed a petition calling for the decision to be reversed.

The company admitted in 2019 that it uses three million tonnes of plastic packaging in a year.

Found on every continent and in the oceans, plastic is a major source of pollution. Its production also contributes to global warming.

But then, so does flying, and we are constantly being encouraged to avoid flights, especially unnecessary ones. Yet, according to CarbonBrief “[a]lmost 40,000 delegates registered for the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) climate summit, the provisional list shows, suggesting that the Glasgow event is the biggest COP to date.” Will another 40,000 descend on Sharm el-Sheikh (arguably a more congenial venue than Glasgow in November)? Will masses of greenhouse gases be spewed into the atmosphere yet again this year, for the 27th time, in the name of reducing greenhouse gases? Probably. Confusion reigns.

23 Comments

  1. The madness of the green extremists has reached that of arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

    Like

  3. +10
    “I’m not sure what a war-like footing amounts to, but whatever it is, it obviously doesn’t extend to being stuck in traffic jams when you can fly over them in a helicopter or in a private jet instead.”

    Like

  4. Let’s face it, if you believe in anthropogenic warming you should stop breathing because you are partly responsible. Also stop passing wind. Doubt whether the Royals will do that !?

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Thankfully, the UN that organises the COP beanos, also names (and should shame) all attendees in its annual lists published at around the time of each COP.

    COP26 Glasgow: 39,509 attendees

    Click to access PLOP_COP26.pdf

    COP25 Madrid: 22,354

    Click to access cp_inf4.pdf

    COP24 Katowice: 22,771

    Click to access PLOP.pdf

    EcoBusiness analysis informs: “Leading the table at COP24 is Guinea with 406 delegates. This is 86 fewer than they sent last year, but still puts it in first place with 169 more people than the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in second.”

    Greenpeace flew (most of its) 48 delegates to COP22, Morocco, in 2016.
    Since then, after much ridicule, it’s tended to not ‘block book’ places.

    Like

  6. COP23 Bonn: 19,115

    Click to access PLOP.pdf

    COP22 Marrakech: 25,903

    Click to access misc02p03.pdf

    COP21 Paris: 30,372. Published in 3 parts
    Pt 1: Afghanistan – Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    Click to access inf03p01.pdf

    Pt 2: Latvia – Zimbabwe
    ….. inf03p02.pdf

    Pr 3: Intergovernmental organizations (East African Community – The Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden); non-governmental organizations
    …… inf03p03.pdf

    Like

  8. “Eco warrior King Charles took two 112-mile helicopter trips in 24 hours to attend opening of new Africa centre in London where he talked about climate change”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11692483/Eco-warrior-King-Charles-took-two-112-mile-helicopter-trips-24-hours.html

    King Charles took two helicopter trips in 24 hours to open the new Africa Centre in London where he discussed the effects of climate change.

    The Monarch opted to fly the 112 miles from the Royal Sandringham estate in Norfolk to London, where he joined in a discussion about how the effects of climate change in Africa could be mitigated.

    It is estimated his total journey of 224 miles would have used hundreds of gallons of aviation fuel….

    …Last summer it was revealed that Charles and Camilla took more than 40 private flights between them in 2021 to travel around the UK and Ireland, including to the UN Climate Conference COP26 in Glasgow….

    Liked by 1 person

  9. “Sunak uses helicopter and jet for short trips within 24 hours
    PM flew to London from Dorset on Wednesday evening and then back to south-west England the next morning”

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/09/rishi-sunak-uses-helicopter-jet-short-trips-24-hours

    Rishi Sunak returned to London from Dorset by helicopter on Wednesday evening and flew back to south-west England by jet the next morning, Downing Street has said, in the latest example of the prime minister’s fondness for short-distance air travel.

    Sunak, who has made recent private helicopter trips to his constituency in North Yorkshire, was at Lulworth military base in Dorset for a press conference with the visiting Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Wednesday.

    The next morning he visited a family hub in St Austell, Cornwall. But rather than stay overnight and travel the 140 miles between the engagements, Sunak flew to and then from London, a round trip of nearly 400 miles.

    “He flew down this morning. I can’t say how he’s getting back,” Sunak’s official spokesperson said, confirming the flight to St Austell was in a jet. The prime minister left Dorset by helicopter, the spokesperson added. This is understood to have been an RAF Chinook….

    Like

  10. Even the Guardian accepts that there is no suggestion on wrongdoing on the part of Rishi Sunak, but for the PM of a “net zero” government, his behaviour increasingly looks like a case of “do as I say, not as I do”:

    “Rishi Sunak has electricity grid upgraded to heat his private pool
    PM will pick up cost of upgrade work in North Yorkshire, and no suggestion he received preferential treatment”

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/12/rishi-sunak-has-electricity-grid-upgraded-to-heat-his-private-pool

    Rishi Sunak’s new private heated swimming pool uses so much energy that the local electricity network had to be upgraded to meet its power demands, the Guardian has been told….

    …extra equipment was recently installed in a remote part of North Yorkshire to provide extra capacity from the National Grid to the prime minister’s constituency home.

    This followed Sunak’s construction of a new heated swimming pool, gym and tennis court in the grounds of the manor house he occupies at weekends. Engineers had to install a substantial amount of equipment and a new connection to the National Grid that runs across open fields.

    Sunak will personally pick up the cost of the electricity upgrade work – estimated to have cost tens of thousands of pounds – in addition to the ongoing cost of energy consumption for the swimming pool….

    …Sunak bought the home for £1.5m in 2015, shortly after becoming the MP for the constituency of Richmond. He still regularly visits the house, although he often eschews the direct rail service from London to nearby Northallerton in favour of a personally funded helicopter trip….

    Liked by 1 person

  11. “EU chiefs flew to UN climate talks in private jet
    European Council President Charles Michel hopped on a private jet for 72 of 112 official trips.”

    https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-presidents-charles-michel-ursula-von-der-leyen-private-jet-climate-talks/

    The EU’s joint presidents flew to last year’s U.N. climate talks in Egypt aboard a private jet, according to data seen by POLITICO that revealed heavy use of private flights by European Council President Charles Michel.

    The flight data, received through a freedom of information request, shows that Michel traveled on commercial planes on just 18 of the 112 missions undertaken between the beginning of his term in 2019 and December 2022.

    He used chartered air taxis on some 72 trips, around 64 percent of the total, including to the COP27 talks in Egypt last November and to the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021. Michel invited Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the flight to Egypt.

    The EU presidents’ choice of transportation to the climate talks highlights a long-standing dilemma for global leaders: how to practice what they preach on greenhouse gas emissions while also facing a demanding travel schedule that makes private aviation a tempting option — even a necessary evil…

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I’m thinking of writing a song:

    Michel, ma menteur
    These are words that go together really, really badly
    Just like the juxtaposition of your words and actions
    You flaming hypocrite

    Needs a bit of work but I’m sure it’ll be a massive hit.

    Liked by 2 people

  15. “King’s green energy firm was investigated after 38-day greenhouse gas leak”

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/09/king-charles-jv-energen-green-firm-38-day-gas-leak

    Health and Safety Executive also issued several notices related to worker safety and explosive substances at JV Energen

    A green energy company set up by King Charles was investigated for numerous health and safety breaches after the unauthorised leak of more than 1,000 tonnes of global-heating gases.

    Methane, CO2 and traces of the toxic gas hydrogen sulphide were released after a gas-holder at the plant split open in 2020. The incident, which lasted for 38 days, was described as “significant” by the Environment Agency.

    Like

  16. from your link –
    “As a producer of green energy, the plant has been eligible for significant government subsidies. These are worth more than £4m a year to JV Energen. Since its launch in 2012, the company has received more than £28m in state subsidies, according to data analysed by the Guardian.”

    well £4m (maybe more) per yr for 10 yr = £40m ?

    ps – Guardian leads, will the BEEB follow I wonder!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  17. “European Council chief’s costly private jet use in spotlight
    Charles Michel denies running up ‘extravagant’ bills and says higher costs stem from Covid pandemic and Ukraine war”

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/13/european-council-president-charles-michel-travel-spending

    The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, has denied running up “extravagant” travel bills, after his use of private jets came under scrutiny…

    …His comments came after Le Monde reported on his use of costly private jets, including for short hops to Paris, as well as other cities well served by commercial airlines, such as Berlin and Vienna. According to a document published on his European Council webpage, Michel flew from Brussels to Paris in February for a meeting on combating terrorism in the Sahel, at a cost of €4,379 (£3,867), rather than take the frequently running fast train service that connects the cities in a 1hr 22min journey. He routinely uses private jets, which are up to 14 times more polluting for each passenger than commercial flights, for his trips to the European parliament’s second seat in Strasbourg, with costs ranging from €1,283 to €9,049 for his return-trip ticket alone.

    The total costs cited by Le Monde were significantly higher, however, because the public register does not disclose the costs of transporting Michel’s officials. Citing copies of travel bills it had seen, Le Monde reported that the total cost of the private jet to the Paris dinner to discuss the Sahel was €35,750, while the bill for one Strasbourg trip alone came in at €35,000, once the charges for Michel’s entourage were factored in.

    Last November a journey by private jet taking Michel and his entourage to Beijing to meet China’s leader, Xi Jinping, cost€460,000; only Michel’s €32,895 travel costs were publicly declared. At the time, some senior EU diplomats raised eyebrows at the trip, as Michel travelled without the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, who oversees EU law and trade deals that could affect China…

    Like

  18. “Coronation flypast could be called off due to adverse weather, MoD says
    Finale involving 60 aircraft may be scaled back as Met Office forecasts cloudy and wet weather in London”

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/04/king-charles-iii-coronation-flypast-weather-forecast

    The coronation flypast is at risk of being scaled back or cancelled because of poor weather forecast for Saturday, the Ministry of Defence has said.

    A tri-service, six-minute flypast of 60 aircraft, including the Battle of Britain memorial flight, the Red Arrows, modern F-35s and Typhoons, is planned as a finale to the coronation day celebrations.

    Surely our new climatically alarmed monarch should have vetoed any suggestion of an unnecessary GHG-spewing flypast in the first place?

    Like

  19. Scotland’s “Green” minister avoids the green option:

    “Green minister Lorna Slater criticised for using private ferry”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65570607

    Scottish Greens minister Lorna Slater has been accused of hypocrisy for using a private ferry for an official visit to an island.

    The boat was hired to take a group of eight people, including Ms Slater, to Rum on Friday morning.

    The Scottish government said it would ensure the best value for taxpayers and allow Ms Slater to “maximise time on the island”.

    But the Conservatives questioned why Ms Slater did not take a CalMac ferry.

    And they predicted that the government’s decision to hire a private boat would anger islanders struggling to access lifeline ferry services….

    …Donald Cameron, a Tory MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said the Greens were “forever lecturing the public on the need to use public transport” but Ms Slater was “happy for the Scottish government to charter a private boat to take her to and from Rum”.

    He added: “Her excuse for doing so – that, essentially, the CalMac timetable doesn’t suit – will go down like a lead balloon with Scotland’s island communities.

    “Those who rely on lifeline ferry services don’t have the luxury of hiring a private boat to travel.

    “Instead, they are dependent on an ageing and unreliable CalMac fleet they’ve been lumbered with due to the scandalous incompetence of the government Lorna Slater is at the centre of.”

    He accused Ms Slater of “breath-taking” hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness, and added that the “tone-deaf indifference to them” was “another kick in the teeth to betrayed islanders”.

    A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “This is stunning hypocrisy. While island communities are facing serious disruption to ferry services, Lorna Slater is chartering a private boat.

    “The Greens are out of touch with working people and nothing more than the SNP’s little helpers. Scotland deserves better.”…

    Like

  20. “James Cleverly’s use of £10,000 an hour Succession-style jet ‘ludicrous’
    Exclusive: UK foreign secretary has been using type of private jet featured in hit TV show for Caribbean and Latin America tour”

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/22/james-cleverly-use-of-private-jet-described-as-ludicrous-extravagance

    It’s interesting that Cleverly is coming under attack from Labour for extravagance (and I would agree with that line of attack), but not one word of criticism is regarding his unnecessary “carbon footprint”.

    From the beginning of 2021 to the end of 2022, there were 31 occasions where foreign secretaries – Dominic Raab, Liz Truss and Cleverly – chartered private jets or used one of the government’s fleet of ministerial planes to travel overseas, at a combined total cost of £4.6m.

    Yes, it’s a lot of money – very possibly a waste of money – but it’s as nought compared to the sums dished out every day on sundry net zero projects.

    Like

  21. “Sunak takes helicopter to Yorkshire – via stopoff just two miles from an airport
    PM visits billionaire family near Manchester on way, raising further questions about his travel habits”

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/26/sunak-takes-helicopter-yorkshire-stopoff-two-miles-from-airport

    Rishi Sunak used a helicopter to travel to his Yorkshire constituency on Thursday, with a stopoff to visit a billionaire family who live only two miles from a large airport.

    Flight records show the prime minister took off from a private heliport near parliament in London on Thursday afternoon, landing about an hour later, very close to Manchester airport.

    The trip will raise more questions about Sunak’s repeated use of helicopters for relatively short trips, especially one where the first stop was an eight-minute drive from the airport….

    Like

  22. “Charles Michel’s flights: Green … or greenwashed?
    The EU leader wants to buy more carbon credits to offset his extensive air travel, but the practice faces increasing scrutiny.”

    https://www.politico.eu/article/charles-michel-flights-green-or-greenwashed-jet/

    European Council President Charles Michel is vying to keep greening his image with a scheme increasingly criticized as greenwashing.

    Just weeks after coming under fire for his heavy use of private jets, the EU chief tasked with corralling the bloc’s 27 leaders is seeking to purchase more carbon credits as the miles rack up.

    According to a little-noticed bid for a contract posted on the EU’s public database, the Council is looking to purchase “carbon credits to offset the CO2 produced during the flight travels of the President of the European Council.”

    In effect, that means the Council is trying to cancel its airborne carbon footprint by supporting carbon-reducing projects elsewhere.

    It’s a tactic Michel’s team has employed and touted before. Since 2021, for instance, the Council says Michel’s private flights have been offset by support for a Brazilian ceramics factory switching to renewable energy. And starting in 2022, the funding has covered all of Michel’s flights.

    But doubts have increasingly plagued the concept of carbon offsets — commodities meant to represent carbon avoided or absorbed from the atmosphere — as mounting investigations show their contribution to reducing carbon emissions is largely exaggerated.

    It’s a “fake climate solution,” said Jo Dardenne, aviation director at Brussels-based clean mobility NGO Transport & Environment. Companies and individuals use it, she added, to “clear their guilty conscience when they board fossil-guzzling private jets.”

    The re-up of the Council’s carbon credits contract comes after POLITICO and others reported on the extent of Michel’s time spent aloft. Earlier this year, POLITICO revealed that Michel had spent €1.7 million on travel in 2022, and wanted to increase his travel budget by 12 percent in 2024. Michel went on 46 official trips abroad in 2022, flying privately 28 times and taking only eight commercial flights….

    …Over the course of Michel’s term, which began in 2019, the Council president has gone on 112 missions abroad, chartering private flights for close to two-thirds of them.

    Like many world leaders, Michel also took private air taxis to COP climate talks in Egypt in 2022 — sharing his plane with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — and to Scotland in 2021, part of a multi-leg journey that included a G20 summit….

    Like

  23. “Sunak takes RAF chopper to Dover, just over an hour away by train
    Prime minister shows his fondness for helicopters again a week after flying in one to his Yorkshire constituency”

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jun/05/sunak-takes-raf-chopper-to-dover-just-over-an-hour-away-by-train

    Rishi Sunak has taken an RAF helicopter from London to Dover, despite the trip being just over an hour by train.

    The UK prime minister once again showed his fondness for choppers on Monday, when he flew from a private helipad in London to the Kent port in an RAF AugustaWestland helicopter for a speech on small boat crossings.

    It is believed he also flew back to London afterwards.

    There are regular trains from three central London stations to Dover, with high-speed services from St Pancras taking just over an hour. A peak-time adult return costs as little as £48…

    Perhaps surprisingly, the Guardian’s campaign against Sunak’s penchant for helicopters concentrates on the cost to the taxpayer, rather than focussing on the emission of unnecessary CO2. That does strike me as odd, given both the Guardian’s obsession with CO2 emissions and also the fact that it campaigns for billions – if not trillions – of pounds to be wasted on net zero.

    Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.