Climate advocate Prince Harry flew to Amsterdam to caution holidaymakers and tourism chiefs about the damage being done to the environment by frequent flyers.
Prince Harry’s message was contained in a new project called Travalyst, which has been three years in the making, seeking to make tourism across the world more sustainable for local communities and habitats in general and tourists to be more mindful with their day-to-day actions in particular.
Speaking at the A’Dam Tower on Tuesday, he told the crowd about his own experiences during the summer when he attracted controversy for his use of private jets: “Occasionally, there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe, it’s genuinely as simple as that.
“As I said in my speech – it is about balance. If I have to do that – and it’s not a decision I would want to take – I would ensure, as I have done previously and I will continue to make sure I do, is balance. I have always offset my CO2.”
The prince argued he traveled “99 percent” of the time on commercial flights, adding: “We could all do better.
“While no one is perfect, we all have a responsibility for our own individual impact. The question is what we do to balance it out.”
Prince Harry, who had flown to Amsterdam on a commercial flight on Monday, encouraged people to be more conscious about their travel in the future.
Harry admitted, “I am not a tourism or business expert”, but added: “Sometimes the scale of the conservation crisis feels overwhelming and that individual actions can’t make a difference.
“I’ve certainly felt that – but I’ve learned that we cannot dismiss the idea of trying to do something, just because we can’t do everything.”
The speech, promoting the eco-tourism project with Booking.com, Sky Scanner, TripAdvisor and Visa, book-ended a number of trips he took his family on over the summer which at one time saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – aka Prince Harry and the former Meghan Markle – taking their four private jet flight in 11 days.
Prince Harry previously said he and his wife will have no more than two children because of the concerns they have for the planet.
“We are the one species on this planet that seems to think that this place belongs to us, and only us,” he revealed in an interview with ethologist Dr Jane Goodall for the September issue of British Vogue.
In August he flew by private jet to Sicily to warn an elite audience of business leaders and celebrities gathered at Google’s annual deluxe retreat that immediate action is needed to avoid an approaching climate catastrophe.