The environmental threats the planet is facing is what forms the subject of a children’s book co-written by King Charles of England where he also called for ‘big changes’ in the way environmental issues are been approached and expressed satisfaction with how children are raising the alarm over climate change.
The King’s personal message, to appear in A Ladybird Book: Climate Change that has Tony Juniper and Professor Emily Shuckburgh OBE as co-authors, was written last year’s summer while he was still the Prince of Wales and heir apparent.
“I am pleased to see that children across the world … are now raising the alarm and calling for big changes to happen. Their efforts have emphasized the importance of caring about what life will be like in the future – there is a lesson in this for us all,” an excerpt from the afterword reads.
The text has been updated with new climate data, an additional spread on the youth climate change movement as well as the new afterword from the King.
Speaking at the reception of an event hosted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Friday to support action on restoring the natural world and had global leaders in attendance, the book’s co-author Tony Juniper said the King wanted to empower young people.
“I think he’s been struck by the level of energy and passion shown by young people on these subjects, and was keen to put something into their hands which was about those basic facts and figures, basic ideas, but also with his personal message in there,” Mr Juniper was quoted as saying.
The second co-author, Professor Emily Shuckburgh OBE, director of Cambridge University’s climate change initiative Cambridge Zero, said: “Children today have only known a planet ravaged by climate change.
“This book explains what is happening, why it is happening and what we can all do about it. Children are our future, and this book is about their future”.
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An earlier version of the book that talks about climate change and had adults as the targeted audience was written by the King and Mr Juniper in 2017. The new publication aims to make the topic accessible for 7-11 year-olds and is “trying to bring the facts to the fingertips of the people who’ve got most to gain by finding solutions in time,” Mr Juniper explained.
The event followed promises made by nations at the UN summit COP15 held in Montreal last December to prevent what is called the “sixth mass extinction event” after it was noted that biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history.
At the December 2022 conference, world leaders agreed to stop the extinction of species, raise £167 billion ($200 billion) a year to protect nature and almost 200 countries pledged to protect 30% of the planet by 2030 to allow nature to flourish in the historic deal known as the Global Biodiversity Framework and the King’s reception is a major step at kick-starting private fundraising to deliver on promises made at the UN’s COP15 summit in December.
Story was adapted from the BBC News
