Prince in call to save rainforests

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Charles, addressing a dinner at Mansion House in the City of London, described tropical forests as "the world's lifebelt", the destruction of which could result in "unprecedented geopolitical and economic upheaval".

The 59-year-old heir to the throne was speaking in his role as founder of a charitable foundation aimed at highlighting the value of the world's remaining rainforests.

The Prince's Rainforest Project was set up in 2007 in a bid to find solutions to the problem of tropical deforestation.

In his speech Charles outlined the devastating effect that destroying the world's precious rainforests could have on climate change and what this could mean for the world at large. He said: "I would suggest that for too long the destruction of the rainforests has been seen as a slightly troubling event occurring in 'far away countries about which we know little', and something which only marginally affects us. The trouble is that nothing could be further from the truth."

The Prince said the phenomena of climate change and rainforests were "umbilically connected".

Charles said: "It is no exaggeration to say that rainforests are the world's lifebelt. They act as giant global utilities, providing essential public services to humanity on a vast scale.

"They are the world's air conditioning system and also help to store the largest body of flowing water on the planet - water which is essential to grow food for the world's growing population."

The Prince added: "The consequences of such dramatic change are huge, even in the medium term with hundreds of millions of people displaced leading to security issues which will dwarf what we have witnessed in recent years and result in unprecedented geopolitical and economic upheaval.

"This is why I often use the analogy of war because I fear we are engaged in a battle for our very survival. We must mobilise ourselves, indeed the whole world, with that real sense of wartime urgency and resolve to act together."