Global Electrification Forum
HRH Prince Charles is The Prince of Wales.
His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales launched his Sustainable Markets Initiative last year at Davos, with the goal of engaging the private sector to take the lead in accelerating the transition to a sustainable future. Next, he announced the Terra Carta, a living, breathing document, forming the foundation of a sustainable future. He spoke on Earth Day at EEI's Fifth Annual Global Electrification Forum, and here are the highlights.
His Royal Highness Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales: I am delighted to join you for the Global Electrification Forum. I'm afraid however, that we are fast running out of time to rescue this poor old planet.
We desperately need the ingenuity of the power industry to bring solutions to the table, while helping to advance that implementation and scale. This is why I'm so encouraged by the opportunity to engage with the power industry and the members of the Edison Electric Institute.
As we move to a clean energy future, the power industry would assume even greater importance, not just because the demand for electricity will increase, but because alternative sources of energy will be required for clean, reliable, baseload power. The power industry has the potential to play a critical role in the production of clean fuels, such as ammonia and hydrogen. Molecules that provide stable long-term energy storage and zero carbon fuels for industry and commercial transportation.
Increasingly, businesses are expected to be responsible global citizens delivering returns, not only for shareholders, but for society and for nature. After nearly forty years of working on these issues to raise awareness of the critical need to tackle the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss, I've seen a dramatic shift in the engagement of the private sector and private finance over the past two years.
Businesses and investors are finally beginning to recognize that building a sustainable future is the growth story of our time. To seize this incredible opportunity, we must start pulling in the same direction, aligning country transition priorities with those of industry and investment.
This accelerated and catalytic approach lies at the heart of my sustainable markets initiative, and recently launched Terra Carta. After an intense year of convening the global private sector, there are fundamental ways the power industry can play a helpful part of the solution.
While there is no single silver bullet, progress is being made, and a range of solutions are increasingly available. I would like to outline some specifics that could be advanced with your help.
First, we must rapidly accelerate the research and development production and adoption of clean energy solutions and systems. Second, we need to cut the time required to develop and deploy new technologies, moving from decades to years and preferably months.
Third, we must invest at scale in practical projects to demonstrate the feasibility of new technologies. Fourth, we must develop credible independent roadmaps aligned with net zero, which accelerate the delivery scale-up of infrastructure, investment, and policy.
Fifth, we must integrate net zero, disclosure of climate and nature related impacts, and ESG standards and metrics into capital allocation and business decisions. Sixth, to accelerate the solutions to some of the most complex challenges we must set up co-locating multidisciplinary teams made up of industry, academia, and government.
Seventh, we need to educate consumers about the technologies that are emerging so they can help fuel the demand. Finally, we must acknowledge that sustainable solutions are technically possible.
Through the Terra Carta, and with support of my Sustainable Markets Initiative, we are developing decarbonization roadmaps across industry verticals, working with countries on their transition plans. We are also identifying how technology and investment can catalyze solutions at scale, and in a way that can shift our trajectory toward a more sustainable future.
With the right investment and people, we can dramatically accelerate our efforts. To achieve this, my Sustainable Markets Initiative is building task forces with coalitions of the willing, to drive the agenda forward.
The world urgently needs your help. Your ingenuity, practical skills, and ability to find solutions matter more than ever. You all have a vital role to play as we develop and scale the technologies, which would impact future generations.
