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Prince Charles
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The Prince of Wales has described climate change as the "biggest threat to mankind" and warned that we must act now before it is too late.
The environmentalist Prince called for greater determination and political will from governments across the world to fight global warming.
"Climate change is now a critical issue for every Commonwealth country," he wrote in CPQ, the quarterly magazine of the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU).
"The challenge is to find ways to mobilise the whole of their society in tackling this ultimate threat to mankind."
The Prince said climate change affects every part of the planet but could not be seen and was therefore easily ignored.
"I believe that mankind has all the necessary skills, resources and ingenuity to tackle climate change effectively," he wrote.
"The question is not whether we can do this, but whether we will, and whether we will do so in time to affect the outcome."
In the wide-ranging article, Charles also cited sustainable development as an area for the 53 countries of the Commonwealth to improve.
He said he had often been inspired by the "quiet diligence" of grassroots organisations and communities that worked to tackle this.
The Prince has long harboured a passion for saving the environment.
Last week he launched the Accounting for Sustainability project to help organisations measure the wider environmental and social costs of their actions.
Charles is starting to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions produced by his own charitable food company Duchy Originals.
The Prince has also pledged to reduce his carbon footprint by cutting down on his use of private planes and encouraging his staff to use bicycles.
He wrote the article for a special edition of CPQ dedicated to climate change.
CPU executive director Lindsay Ross said: "We are delighted that HRH Prince Charles has taken this opportunity not only to express his vision of the Commonwealth but also to voice his very real concerns over serious issues which will affect all of us in the future."
Copyright Press Association 2006
