Prince Charles unveils ‘Terra Carta’ action plan in urgent appeal over environment

Prince of Wales presents the new sustainability charter at One Planet Summit in Paris

Prince Charles addressed the One Planet Summit outlining the 'Terra Carta' charter for businesses. Screen Grab/Facebook

Britain's Prince of Wales unveiled his 'Terra Carta' sustainability plan in an urgent appeal to prominent business leaders over the environment.

Prince Charles was speaking during the One Planet Summit in Paris on Monday, where he asked the global private sector to join the new charter on sustainability at a "historic tipping point" for the world.

Designed by Apple's former chief design officer Sir Jony Ive, the Terra Carta, or Earth Charter, sets out a 10-point strategy for businesses.

It is hoped the 17-page document will provide a path towards a sustainable future by 2030.

Among the pledges are a commitment to accelerating the world’s transition towards a “sustainable future” and ensuring the “integrity” of ecosystems.

The charter also seeks to acknowledge that nature “underpins the inherent prosperity, well-being and future of all people and the one planet we share”.

Businesses already signed up to the Terra Carta include AstraZeneca, the Bank of America, HSBC, BP and Heathrow Airport.

The Terra Carta is a response to Prince Charles' call for a new approach to the environment, made during Climate Week in September 2020.

One of its actions will be initiated in Paris on Monday, with the creation of a Natural Capital Investment Alliance aiming for $10 billion of funds by 2022.

“Today, I am making an urgent appeal to leaders from all sectors and from around the world to join us in this endeavour and to give their support to this Terra Carta, to bring prosperity into harmony with nature, people and planet over the coming decade,” the Prince of Wales said.

“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.

“While the Terra Carta outlines 10 areas for action, with our focus today a key area must be accelerating the transition of carbon intensive land use and scaling investment in the restoration of natural recovery.”

The charter is designed to support other agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the Convention of Biological Diversity and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

The Terra Carta, which derives its name from the historic Magna Carta document, will be updated annually.

The One Planet Summit, a largely online event, will feature French President Emmanuel Macron, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.