Prince Charles delivered a rare address by a member of the royal family at the G20 summit in Rome.

In his address, the King in waiting and committed environmentalist warned world leaders that it's "last chance saloon", reminding them of their "overwhelming responsibility" to keep climate change in check.


The G20 summit is a preliminary event ahead of the UN climate summit. Attended by world leaders, such as Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Prince Charles, and Pope Francis, the summit called on G20 leaders to think big on solving climate issues.

The heir to the British throne, who warned the “future of humanity and nature herself is at stake”, will also deliver the opening address at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.

“It is impossible not to hear the despairing voices of young people who see you, ladies and gentlemen, as the stewards of the planet, holding the viability of their future in your hands,” said Prince Charles as he addressed the G20 attendees.

“As you know, listening is often more important than speaking, and I have listened closely to leaders of many countries, particularly Commonwealth nations whose communities are some of the most climate-vulnerable on this Earth."

In his address, Prime Minister Draghi called climate change "the defining challenge of our times".

The Italian Prime Minister said: “Either we act now... or we delay acting, pay a much higher price later, and risk failing.”

Pope Francis later tweeted: “This is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities... The time to act, and to act together, is now!”


Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin were both absent from the meeting, although they were participating via videolink.

Nearly 200 nations are gathering in Glasgow for COP26, with many of the leaders in Rome — including US President Joe Biden — heading straight there.

Expectations for the Rome summit to "do its utmost" to ensure the success of the Glasgow meeting were anticipated.

However, French President Emmanuel Macron said that "nothing is ever written before a COP."

“Let’s not forget that in Paris, in 2015, nothing was decided in advance,” the French president told Journal du Dimanche.

China, currently the world's biggest carbon polluter, plans to make its economy carbon neutral before 2060 but has resisted pressure to offer nearer-term goals.

Meanwhile, India argued that rich countries should be carbon neutral 10 years earlier than emerging nations if the global target is to reach net-zero by 2050. The move would allow the poorer nations a larger carbon allowance and more time to develop.

G20 agrees on 1.5 C target

According to a final draft communique obtained by the AFP, leaders committed to the key goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and pledged action on the use of coal. However, their pledges fell short of a target of zero emissions.

Further, leaders agreed to keep the key commitments set at the landmark 2015 Paris COP 21, according to the draft communique which several sources said was the final version due to be published later Sunday.

“Keeping 1.5 degrees within reach will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries, taking into account different approaches,” it says.

According to the statement, leaders of countries including the US, China, India, Russia, plus the EU, call for clear national plans that “align long-term ambition with short- and medium-term goals, and with international cooperation and support”.

Meanwhile, experts say that meeting the 1.5 C target means slashing global emissions nearly in half by 2030 and to "net-zero" by 2050. However, the G20 communique does not include a firm date which means that the goal of net-zero will only be reached "by or around mid-century".

Moreover, global leaders agreed that funding for new coal plants whose emissions have not gone through any filtering process will be ended by the end of 2021.

Lacking ambition

Although diplomats are saying that the language used in the communique was tougher compared to the statements in the Paris summit, activist groups slammed the final statement, calling it "weak" and "half-hearted".

Greenpeace, an environmental campaign group, said that the statement was "weak, lacking both ambition and vision."

“If the G20 was a dress rehearsal for COP26, then world leaders fluffed their lines,” said Greenpeace Executive Director Jennifer Morgan.

Friederike Roder, senior director at anti-poverty group Global Citizen, told AFP the summit had produced “half-measures rather than concrete actions”.

French President Emmanuel Macron, has stated that it was “too early” for the success of the Glasgow talks to be written off.