Royal Family to adopt 'strict' eco-friendly travel plans

The Royal Family is set to adopt strict environmentally-friendly travel rules.

According to the new plans - introduced by Buckingham Palace officials - members of the royal family must reduce their use of helicopters and planes to help cut global carbon emissions.

Prince Charles is determined to reduce his carbon footprint on the world and is championing the 'green revolution'.

The news is expected to be badly received by Prince Andrew, nicknamed 'Air Miles Andy' for his love of riding on helicopters and planes.

The royal has previously sparked outrage among environmentalists by refusing to use railways, arguing they are too unreliable.

To kick off the initiative, Charles has already promised to cut his use of air travel and switch to alternative means of travel, such as trains.

He has also vowed to switch to green electricity at his homes and reduce the number of holidays he takes abroad which require the use of long-haul flights.

The lifestyle changes - which were agreed after a review by the Department of Transport - will also increase the royal family's accountability.

While at the moment Queen Elizabeth and her family are required to justify their travel costs merely on the grounds of finances, necessity and time consideration, the new plans will require them to also validate their choice of travel on energy efficiency and environmental considerations.

No firm deadline has yet been given for the introduction of the new rules, however, Charles' eco-friendly travel regime is expected to be in place for him and his wife Camilla by February 2007.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his new 'green' Jaguars.

The 58-year-old prince has converted his two official chauffeur-driven cars to run on vegetable oil, as part of his new eco-friendly travel plans.

The £50,000 vehicles now feature engines that run entirely on "biodiesel" - made from rape seed.

A Jaguar spokesperson told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "This is really cutting edge but Charles has shown the way."

Charles' cars are the first in the world to run on the specially modified vegetable oil, which is biodegradable, non-toxic and produces much less pollutants than petrol or diesel.

The prince is determined to reduce his carbon footprint on the world and has recently announced that he plans to swap his royal helicopter for trains and he has even instructed his staff to travel by bicycle wherever possible.

Charles has also suggested that he will commute to London on public trains from his Highgrove residence.

Yesterday, he launched his Costing The Earth - The Accounting For Sustainability project at St James' Palace.

The prince wants industry leaders to assess the environmental damage caused in the production of their products.

Charles warned that we are all "living on borrowed time" if we don't stop consuming the world's resources at our current rate.

He added: "It is our children and grandchildren who will have to pay off this debt and we owe it to them and ourselves to do something about it before it is too late."

Copyright BANG Showbiz 2006.