King Charles III on Wednesday, June 28, joined the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan to activate a climate clock which shows the number of days left to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) by 2030.
The climate clock has a countdown of six years and 24 days, demonstrating the time remaining for the world to cutdown greenhouse emissions by half in line with the Paris Agreement.
The activation of the clock was done on the sidelines of the 2023 Climate Innovation Forum (CIF) hosted by Climate Action in London.
According to the organisers, the event brought together policy makers, investors, climate-tech solution providers, business leaders and innovation catalysers to help achieve our net zero ambitions regionally, nationally and globally, whilst maximising the role of innovation in delivering net zero growth opportunities.
There are 150 versions of the clock around the UK, across London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Edinburgh and Southampton, the largest of which is at Piccadilly Circus. Billboards were donated by Ocean Outdoor and JCDecaux.
The Chief Executive and Founder of Climate Action, Nick Henry, said “We are honoured to be joined by His Majesty King Charles at the Climate Innovation Forum for the national climate clock switch on, during London Climate Action Week.
“This powerful illustration of the scale of the climate emergency also reminds us there is still time to avert disaster. We need to align all actors – governments, cities, investors, businesses, and civil society – to move at speed and at scale.
“It is vital that we embrace the pro-growth opportunity of the net-zero transition and turn ambition into transformational action.”
During the event, King Charles met with UK’s Climate Change Minister, Graham Stuart, who disclosed that the UK government had awarded 80million pounds to companies developing new clean technologies.
“We can be proud of the fact that we have decarbonised more than any other major economy on Earth. But it’s not enough, and that’s one of the reasons why we’re funding innovation.
“I’m pleased to announce today that we’ve awarded £80 million to companies developing new clean technologies through our net-zero innovation portfolio,” Stuart said.
