Britain’s Prince William talks climate change with UN chief

Britain’s Prince William met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Monday and discussed “efforts required to accelerate the fight against climate change and protect the environment,” a U.N. spokesperson said.

“They also discussed efforts to enhance implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as financing for development,” the spokesperson said.

William visited the 193-member world body where world leaders have gathered for the annual high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. Guterres will host a “no-nonsense” climate ambition summit on Wednesday.

Leaders are also meeting at the United Nations on Monday and Tuesday on the Sustainable Development Goals, a 2015 “to-do” list that includes wiping out hunger and extreme poverty, battling climate change and achieving gender equality.

Guterres warned that the goals “need a global rescue plan.”

William is visiting New York for the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit where he will unveil this year’s finalists for the award he launched in 2020 to help find solutions to major environmental problems.

“Eighty years ago, the world came together in this great city to find a new way, through the U.N., to solve our shared challenges,” William said after arriving in New York. “I know our generation can take the bold action we need to make changes towards a healthy and sustainable world.”

On Tuesday he will host business leaders, climate activists and policymakers, with those present including U.N. Special Climate Envoy Michael Bloomberg, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

The trip is William’s first to New York since 2014. He visited Boston last December for the Earthshot Prize award ceremony, when he also met President Joe Biden.