Prince Charles says his household emitted 3,425 tonnes of greenhouse gases last year. That must make him one of the biggest emitters in the world, even though he is cutting back with measures like running his Jaguar on fuel made from cooking oil.charles.jpg

Obviously his ”household” extends well beyond a wife and two children — his accounts released on Tuesday say it covers his London home at Clarence House, two other residences, his and his wife’s official activities and those of all their staff. His Duchy of Cornwall owns land in 20 counties.

But it’s still a lot of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.

By my reckoning, you would have to drive a small car about 500 times around the planet to generate the same amount of carbon dioxide, based on calculations from CarbonNeutral’s website. And Charles’ emissions are way, way above those produced by the people of Qatar who, with annual output of 63.1 tonnes per capita, are the leaders in the latest ranking by the U.N. Development Programme.

On that list, Americans are the top emitters per capita among large nations with 19.8 tonnes. Prince Charles’ compatriots are on just 9.4 tonnes each, meaning his household has emissions equivalent to those of 364 Britons (… his accounts list just 106 staff).

According to the U.N. figures, in China, which is set to overtake the United States as the world’s biggest national emitter, each person generates just 3.2 tonnes and everyone in India 1.2 tonnes. At the bottom of the list are many African nations, such as Niger and Sierra Leone, with emissions of 0.1 tonnes or less.

So, I wonder who else in the world has higher emissions than Prince Charles? A few presidents or heads of state? Perhaps chief executives of big companies who use private jets a lot? And how many of them are following Prince Charles’ example and trying to offset their emissions to live ”carbon neutral”?

 

 

 

Sphere: Related Content