Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry have pledged that their charitable foundation Archewell will reach net-zero carbons emissions by 2030, prompting criticisms of the pair’s not-so-environmentally friendly jet-setting travel habits.
Announced on the Archewell Foundation’s website on Tuesday, a statement said: “As global leaders convene for COP26 to commit to solutions for our climate crisis, all of us at Archewell, led by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, share our pledge towards a more sustainable future by becoming net zero by 2030.”
“Nearly every activity in daily life results in the release of carbon into the atmosphere, and the sum total of those emissions is considered our ‘carbon footprint,'” the statement continued, listing such factors as travel, heating, and “what we eat and how often we eat it.”
“We are a young company, but today, Archewell joins our co-founders in committing to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030,” the foundation said.
Responding to the reports, Brexit campaigner and social commentator Darren Grimes said: “Is this the same couple that appear at New York climate events only to fly back to California by private jet, take two private jets to attend a polo match, reportedly stayed on a carbon-spewing ‘superyacht’?
“Need I go on? What an insufferable pair.”
The woke royals have been criticised in the past for their hypocrisy of preaching on climate change but using non-environmentally friendly modes of travel, such as private jets, including in February 2020 when Prince Harry flew from Canada to the United Kingdom to promote a campaign to reduce the carbon footprint of frequent fliers.
In August of this year the prince was again flying from Colorado to California in a private jet after attending a polo match.
The statement was released hours after Queen Elizabeth II’s recorded message to the UN COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, during which the monarch said: “I, for one, hope this conference will be one of those rare occasions where everyone will have a chance to rise above the politics of the moment and achieve true statesmanship.
“It is the hope of many that the legacy of this summit… That [leaders] left this conference as a community of nations with a determination, a desire, and a plan to address the impact of climate change.”
The Queen’s remarks came weeks after she reportedly vented her frustration at world leaders who “talk” about tackling the alleged climate crisis, but do not “do”.
Others in the Royal Family have been more open in their belief in manmade climate change, including the next in line to the throne, Prince Charles, who called for a “vast military-style campaign” to combat global warming when he opened COP26 on Monday, after having claimed the climate conference was the “last chance saloon” to save the planet.