Prince Charles launches Terra Carta
HRH Prince Charles has today launched a new initiative to urge big business to put the planet first.
As part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, he has announced the ‘Terra Carta’ – a charter that puts sustainability at the heart of the private sector.
The appeal coincides with the Prince marking 50 years of campaigning for the environment and one year since he announced his Sustainable Markets Initiative at Davos.
The Terra Carta offers the basis of a recovery plan to 2030 that puts Nature, People and Planet at the heart of global value creation.
Devising its name from the historic Magna Carta, which inspired a belief in the fundamental rights and liberties of people over 800 years ago, the Terra Carta aims to reunite people and planet, by giving fundamental rights and value to Nature, ensuring a lasting impact and tangible legacy for this generation.
The Terra Carta aims to provide an integrated roadmap towards an inspiring, inclusive, equitable, prosperous and sustainable future for the sake of present and future generations; one that will
harness the power of Nature combined with the transformative power, innovation and resources of the private sector.
The aims of the Terra Carta will be met by:
- Furthering, and where possible exceeding, the goals and targets outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention to Combat Desertification and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
- Broadening the definition of sustainability, beyond simply net zero transition, to be inclusive of Nature, People, Planet, Equality and Prosperity.
- Supporting the protection and restoration of a minimum of 30% of biodiversity, on land and below water, by 2030 and 50% by 2050.
- Making global investment and financial flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions, climate-resilient development and Natural Capital/biodiversity restoration (on land and below water).
- Encouraging coordination, cooperation and cohesion within corporate and public-private-philanthropic domains.
- Leveraging consumer and shareholder demand to drive sustainable transition and investment within the private sector.