Prince Charles accused of 'enviro hypocrisy' after plane flies 125 miles to pick him up

 

 

Charles's aides at Clarence House have hit back after the Prince of Wales was accused of making a carbon-guzzling RAF aircraft take a 125-mile trip pick him up

 

Prince Charles has come under fire for making a plane take an extra 125-mile trip to pick him up — after spending several weeks lecturing the public about about global warming.

 

He took the official Voyager aircraft from RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, near Sandringham, to jet off to a ceremony removing the Queen as head of state in Barbados last week, according to The Mirror.

 

But critics say the heir apparent could easily have reduced his carbon footprint by using his electric vehicle to get to RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, where the plane is usually kept.

 

The plane's detour is estimated to have saved the Prince only two hours of driving time.

 

 

 

Some have said Charles contradicted his own words last month, when he told the high-profile Cop26 global sustainability conference: “We have to reduce emissions urgently. 

 

“We have to put ourselves on what might be called a war-like footing. We know what we must do.”

 

Graham Smith of the vocal anti-monarchist group Republic has accused Charles of “staggering hypocrisy”, and branded the flight as a waste of taxpayer's cash.

 

And Matt Finch from the Transport & Environment NGO added: “For long distances we can’t avoid air travel, but for domestic travel, anyone should avoid flying and use other forms of transport.”

 

However, Charles's aides were quick to point out that the fuel used in the jet — which is shared with the Prime Minister and the UK government — is eco-friendly.

 

A spokesman from Clarence House said: “The prince has campaigned for a shift towards sustainable aviation fuel as air travel is a crucial part of his work.

 

“As a result, this autumn the RAF introduced for the first time sustainable fuel and deployed it for this trip." 

 

Manufacturers of the new fuel claim it can cut a plane’s carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent, over its life cycle.

 

Source: Daily Star