Prince Charles’ upcoming visit to Australia: Turnbull government under pressure to restore carbon tax

The upcoming visit of Prince Charles to Australia will have a "green push" about it, with the prince pushing Australia to take action on carbon pricing for fixing emissions. The prince is of the view that a carbon tax is most essential for nations to address the climate change issue.

The Brisbane Times reported that the royal's agenda has set him on a potential collision course with his Australian hosts, ahead of the November visit. On Nov.12, the prince is expected to speak at a climate change round table in Sydney, hosted by CISL, before he meets Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Canberra.

The prince has been quite vocal in his support for economic strategies to tackle climate change. But it is unclear whether the prince will urge Turnbull to make a u-turn on the carbon tax when he meets him.

In 2014, Australia scrapped the carbon tax. Despite the new PM asserting that his government will review the past climate change policies by 2017, he has not given any hint of restoring the emissions trading scheme.

Australia’s position stands in stark contrast to 60 other jurisdictions in the world, including the European Union, where carbon trading schemes or carbon tax exists. Many multinationals, including big oil companies are also pushing for a global carbon price to accelerate investment in low-carbon energy projects.

Champion of ecology

Prince Charles has emerged as a hard core campaigner for the cause of conservation and ecology. He also plays the role of a keen mediator on climate change in the lead-up to December's COP21 in Paris, being hosted by the United Nations to draw a global climate change action plan.

The prince has revealed that he has been invited by French President Francois Hollande to deliver a keynote address at the opening ceremony of COP21. He also attended the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit.

“Paris will be an absolutely crucial milestone in the long overdue international effort to keep to a 2 degree world,” Prince Charles said recently.

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found any rise of more than two degrees in global temperature by 2100 will accompany the risk of rising sea levels and extreme weather events. When temperature rises beyond 4 degrees the effects will be too dangerous.

The COP21 must “send an unequivocal, long-term signal to the international community, and to global markets, that the transition to a low carbon, sustainable, climate-compatible economy is firmly and irreversibly underway", Prince Charles has said.

Itinerary

Meanwhile, the travel plans of Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall to Australia have been revealed. They will arrive at the New Zealand capital, Wellington, on November 4 for the 12-day tour of Australia and New Zealand.

In Australia, the visit will take the prince to Adelaide, Barossa Valley town Tanunda, Canberra, Sydney, Perth and Albany, reports 9 News. The trip will also coincide with the royal's 67th birthday, which is expected to be celebrated at Perth’s Cottlesloe.

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