Prince Charles and the green investment conundrum
One of the more intriguing revelations from the ‘Paradise Papers’ – a leak of documents relating to offshore tax schemes – is that the Duchy of Cornwall, Prince Charles’s private estate, had invested in Sustainable Forestry Ltd which lobbied politicians to amend global agreements to allow the trading of carbon credits from rainforests.
Eyebrows were raised at this revelation as the prince has also made speeches in support of such a change. The Duchy says the prince has no direct involvement in investment decisions, but, if he wasn’t aware of the company’s position on this, the co-incidence is remarkable.
The Prince is not alone, Al Gore has been attacked for both having investments in green technology (by the right wing climate change denial movement) and for having investments in other technologies (from the hard left). He can’t win: if he invests in green then he has a vested interest; if not, he’s a hypocrite.
While my investments in green energy schemes are decidedly small beer (understatement klaxon!) compared to the fortunes of the prince and Mr Gore, I decided that I’d rather use my limited spending power in the pursuit of a sustainable future than worry about perceived conflicts of interest. If I saved for my future through ‘business as usual’ investments, then I’d be helping sustain business as usual. That’s a no brainer.
Where Prince Charles has fallen down is not declaring, or possibly being unaware of, a conflict of interest in a specific policy intervention. This is a basic transparency principle for politicians and it should apply to royalty as well.