Prince William has some thoughts on the billionaires ignoring climate change. The Duke of Cambridge said in a new televised interview with BBC Newscast that he was less than impressed with billionaires (i.e. Jeff Bezos) who are using their wealth to explore space instead of fighting global climate change.
“We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live,” the Duke said. “That really is quite crucial to be focusing on this one rather than giving up and heading out into space to try and think of solutions for the future.”
The prince was asked if he had any desires of his own to one day travel into space, to which he responded that his previous tenure as a pilot was enough of an experience for him.
“I have absolutely no interest in going that high. I’m a pilot, but I’m a helicopter pilot, so I stay reasonable close to the ground. I’ve been up to 65,000 feet once, in a plane, and that was truly terrifying. And that’s high enough,” William said.
William’s interview came the day after William Shatner became the older person to travel to space – a trip funded by Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin space tourism company. Bezos blasted into space himself in July. Fellow billionaires Richard Branson and Elon Musk are working to expand “commercial space tourism” as well.
The prince has been a huge advocate for a greener world for a long time now. The Duke even launched the Earthshot Prize, an annual effort that over the next 10 years will award “five, one million-pound ($1.2 million) prizes to individuals, organizations, charities, scientists, activists, and those around the world who are working to provide solutions to the world’s biggest environmental problems.”
