King praises children for ‘raising the alarm over climate change’
The monarch called for ‘big changes’ in the way we approach the issue in an afterword to a new book from Ladybird.
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Your support makes all the difference.The King said he was pleased to see children raising the alarm over climate change and calling for big changes, in a book afterword that he wrote before the death of his mother the Queen.
Charles penned the personal message, to appear in A Ladybird Book: Climate Change, in summer last year while he was still the Prince of Wales.
The Queen died on September 8.
In the afterword to the book, to be published next month, the King writes: “Ever since I was a young teenager I have been deeply worried about the way we have shaped our world.”
In another excerpt from the afterword, he writes: “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 emphasised the importance of caring about what life will be like in the future – there is a lesson in this for us all.”
The King is a constitutional monarch who must remain politically neutral.
Charles has co-authored A Ladybird Book: Climate Change, which is a child-friendly title adapted from the Ladybird Expert volume published in 2017.
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 former Prince of Wales, and is illustrated by Aleesha Nandhra.
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.
“As a scientist who has studied the climate from pole-to-pole, and as a parent with two young daughters, I believe there is no more important issue to inform and educate young people about.”
Co-author Dr Tony Juniper CBE, an environmentalist, said: “It is vital we take action now to avoid the worst consequences of global heating, and part of our plan must include empowering young people.
“This is not about passing the problem to them, but helping to ensure they are armed with the facts and thus in a stronger position to urge that changes are made to protect their future.
“There has been no more effective or committed champion of this cause than the former Prince of Wales and I am sure this book and his words will help to keep things moving in the right direction.”
Libby Walden, commissioning editor at Ladybird, said: “Ladybird has a long history of making non-fiction accessible for children with our mini hardback series.
“When the team were thinking about new titles and what topics children might be interested in, climate change and the importance of protecting our world was something we really wanted to explore.
“We are incredibly proud to be publishing A Ladybird Book: Climate Change and hope that it informs, engages and empowers young people.”
A Ladybird Book: Climate Change will be published on March 9 in Ladybird Hardback, priced £6.99.