Prince Charles: Climate change most ‘pivotal challenge of our time’

The United Kingdom’s Prince Charles urged world leaders to work quickly with business leaders to take strong action to fight climate change.

In a video he released Monday for Tuesday’s United Nations climate conference, he said climate change “the most defining and pivotal challenge of our time.”

{mosads}“Even in a world full of daunting perils and crises, it is hard to imagine anything that poses a greater challenge and opportunity for humanity,” the Prince of Wales said in a video.

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister David Cameron will represent the nation at the summit, where UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked for bold commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Charles blasted people who want to delay or avoid taking action against climate change, or who said officials should study it more.

“No doctor would wait for 100 percent certainty while a dying patient slipped away,” he said. “We cannot ignore the symptoms, and should act now to restore the health of the planet before it is too late.”

He applauded efforts to increase renewable energy, increase renewable energy and mitigate deforestation, though he said all of those efforts “need to be vastly scaled up” in order to reduce carbon emissions to the levels necessary.

Charles also promoted the work of the corporate leaders’ group he oversees, whose members he said agree that strong action is necessary to keep global warming to a minimum.