The Duke and Duchess of Sussex flew off on a private jet to enjoy a Caribbean holiday… after attending a conference that warned of how the blight of climate change is damaging children’s mental health.
Eco campaigners Prince Harry and wife Meghan were branded ‘hypocrites’ over their carbon-belching jaunt.
They attended the summit in New York
They attended the summit in New York on October 10 then flew from New Jersey to Canouan in a Falcon 7X for a holiday the next day.
And last Sunday, they used the same aircraft to travel four hours from the exclusive island hotspot to Atlanta, Georgia.
Private jets burn more fuel per passenger than airliners and the flights totalled over 4,000 miles with an estimated 9.6 tons of CO2 emissions.
The New York summit they attended was organised by non-profit group Project Healthy Minds.
During it, mental health adviser Zak Williams, the son of late actor Robin, warned ‘climate change is impacting our mental health, particularly young people’.
Harry has repeatedly stressed his eco credentials, including to Oprah Winfrey on Apple TV two years ago, saying: ‘I believe even more that climate change and mental health are two of the most pressing issues we’re facing, and in many ways linked.’
Efforts to make tourism industry more sustainable
Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, launched the Travalyst initiative in 2019 to urge the tourism industry to be more sustainable.
In 2019, the couple faced criticism for taking four private jet flights in 11 days, including to Sir Elton John’s home in Nice, France.
And in 2021 Harry boarded a 20-seater plane for a trip home from a polo match in Aspen, Colorado.
Former Lib Dem MP Norman Baker, who has studied the environmental impact of Harry and Meghan’s use of private jets, said: ‘There’s only one thing worse than damaging the environment unnecessarily through travelling habits and that’s being hypocritical about the importance of climate change.
‘[They] fail on both counts. If you can’t stop travelling by private jet, at least shut up about climate change.’
A source said the private plane Harry and Meghan used is owned by a pal, who owns a property on Canouan.
They added that the couple took a commercial flight from California to New York ahead of the conference, before flying home on another commercial flight from Atlanta.
Representatives of the Sussexes were approached for comment. Harry previously said he travels on commercial planes ‘99% of my life’ and occasionally needs to ‘ensure my family are safe’.
