The Prince of Wales is calling for businesses to do more to protect the planet, as he launches the ‘Terra Carta’.
The ‘Terra Carta’ – or Earth charter – aims to raise £7.3bn to invest in the natural world and set out to harness the ‘irreplaceable power of nature’.
Prince Charles will say in his virtual address to the One Planet Summit today (11 January) that he hopes the new charter will help ‘reunite people and planet’.
‘I can only encourage, in particular, those in industry and finance to provide practical leadership to this common project, as only they are able to mobilise the innovation, scale and resources that are required to transform our global economy,’ the Prince is expected to say later.
‘The Terra Carta offers the basis of a recovery plan that puts nature, people and planet at the heart of global value creation – one that will harness the precious, irreplaceable power of nature combined with the transformative innovation and resources of the private sector.’
As we strive to imagine the next 800 years of human progress, the fundamental rights and value of nature must represent a step-change in our “future of industry” and “future of economy” approach.
The Terra Carta, launched in homage to the historic Magna Carta – the charter of basic rights agreed over 800 years ago – sets out a ten-point action plan for businesses as part of a recovery plan designed to improve the carbon footprint of businesses by 2030.
There are nearly 100 actions for business outlined in the 17-page-long Terra Carta, which has already acquired the support of leading businesses such as Bank of America, Blackrock, EY, AstraZeneca, Schroders, BP, and Heathrow Airport.
The 10-point charter commits backers to rapidly accelerating ‘the world’s transition towards a sustainable future’, while recognising the importance of natural ecosystems and resources, as well as human health, wellbeing, prosperity, and local traditions and cultures.
One of the Terra Carta’s key actions is the creation of a Natural Capital Investment Alliance to develop a ‘common language’ for natural capital investing, with a target to drive $10bn of capital allocation in this direction by 2022.
In his foreword to Terra Carta, the prince writes: ‘If we consider the legacy of our generation, more than 800 years ago, Magna Carta inspired a belief in the fundamental rights and liberties of people.
‘As we strive to imagine the next 800 years of human progress, the fundamental rights and value of nature must represent a step-change in our “future of industry” and “future of economy” approach.’