Prince Harry joins forces with Greta Thunberg, says climate change is 'a race against time which we are losing'
The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, extended his support to Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, in a speech saying that the world is in a state of "emergency" and is "losing" its battle against climate change.
Harry's statement on Thursday, September 26, comes just days after Thunberg addressed a delegation of international leaders at the United Nations in New York, and slammed them for their inaction against climate change.
Harry reportedly arrived by the banks of Botswana's Chobe River in South Africa on Thursday morning and participated in a tree-planting project. The Duke, along with several other people, strained to plant a huge sapling into the ground.
After the event, he made a statement stressing that the environment is in a race against time, adding: "Led by Greta, the world's children are striking."
Harry said that he could not comprehend how anyone "you, us, children, leaders" could ignore the facts of climate change from the last four decades that are out in the open, according to a Daily Mail report.
"There's an emergency ... it's a race against time and one which we are losing. Everyone knows it," Harry said.
"There's no excuse for not knowing that and the most troubling part of that is that I don't believe that there's anybody in this world that can deny science — undeniable science and facts — science and facts that have been around for the last 30, maybe 40, years and it's only getting stronger and stronger."
"'I don't understand how anyone in this world, whoever we are, you, us, children, leaders, whoever it is, no one can deny science, otherwise we live in a very, very troubling world," the Duke added.
Harry, during his speech, also mentioned how Botswana became a place for comfort and escape after the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
"15 years I've been coming here, it's a sense of escapism, a real sense of purpose ... I have some of my closest friends here over the years," Harry said. "I came here in 1997 or 1998 straight after my mum died, so it was a nice place to get away from it all. I feel deeply connected to this place and to Africa."