In an interview with BBC, William expressed his disapproval. This was just a day after William Shatner, the actor from “Star Trek”, became the oldest man in space. The interview was aired on Thursday. It was a day after Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, funded William Shatner’s rocket.
William, second in line to the British throne, stated, “We need some world’s best brains and minds focused on trying to fix this planet, and not trying to locate the next place to live and go.”
The 90-year-old Shatner flew briefly into space on Wednesday with Blue Origin, Bezos’s space travel company. Elon Musk and Richard Branson, billionaires, are also investing in their space ambitions.
William, who was a helicopter pilot in the Royal Air Force, said, “I’ve been up at 65,000 feet once in an airplane, that was truly frightening.” “That’s enough.”
William, formally known as The Duke of Cambridge, spoke about climate change before his first Earthshot environmental prize award ceremony. This was two weeks before the U.N. climate summit begins in Glasgow, Scotland, at the end.
William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, will join him at the star-studded ceremony in London’s Alexandra Palace. Five sustainability projects will win 1 million pounds ($1.35million) each. These awards are inspired by the Moonshot Challenge that President John F. Kennedy set in 1961 for the United States to land humans on Mars by the end of the decade. This challenge was achieved eight years later.
A committee that includes veteran broadcaster David Attenborough, Cate Blanchett, and Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, director of World Trade Organization will select the winners.
William, who was immersed in environmental issues his entire life thanks to the strong interest of Prince Charles and Prince Philip, expressed concern about what his children would inherit.
It would be an “absolute catastrophe” for his 8-year old son Prince George, who he described as being “acutely conscious” of the impact of resources on the planet, to have to address the same issues in 30 more years.
William stated that young people are now growing up in a world where their futures are constantly at risk. It’s extremely unnerving, and it’s very anxiety-making.
William echoed his father’s comments and urged world leaders at the U.K. Climate Summit in Glasgow (known as COP26), to turn words into actions.
William stated, “I believe that COP must communicate very clearly (and very honestly) what the problems and the solutions are.”
The summit will be held between Oct. 31 and Nov. 12. Many environmentalists see it as the last chance for the world to fight climate change.