Prince William gets dragged into Donald Trump rant as he makes urgent speech

Prince William has implored world leadersto act to save the planet, declaring at the start of London Climate Action Week that it is a "team game". The Prince of Wales joined fellow eco-warriors at Bloomberg’s London HQ, joining forces once again with Aussie conservationist Robert Irwin.

Speaking about the Earthshot Prize, the environmental project he set up in 2020 to discover, reward and scale innovative solutions for the planet’s biggest issues, William said: "Everything we want to do here starts with a team game. And the prize is just the pinnacle of the ability to showcase all the brilliant people around who are working in this space to better the planet, to better our futures, and to make life more sustainable in all walks of life."

William said that he was 'excited' about travelling to Rio de Janeiro later this year when the city will host the Earthshot Prize ceremony, the annual environmental awards.

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The prince said: "From a personal point of view, I've always wanted to get (to) South America, particularly Brazil. So I'm personally very excited about going down there. I think South America as a whole, the amount of ecosystem, kind of environmental interest and passion that is there.

"I think that's really important. And I think they epitomize the approach to what we can be doing more sustainably. The vibrancy, the energy, the enthusiasm. I think the awards will be spectacular."

On the awards, now in its fifth year after taking the project last November to Cape Town, South Africa, the heir said: “A lot of people think the Earthshot Prize is just about climate change; it really isn't. It's about waste. It's about plastic pollution. It's about the health of our oceans. It's about the air we breathe.

“It's all the things that we as human beings care about. And so it takes a village to raise a family. If you take that into the concept of a planet, it takes all of us who are living on this planet to raise that planet and look after it."

During a different panel event, however, the prince was in the audience when other speakers criticised President Trump’s green credentials. Welcoming William to the event, Mike Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, said: “I’m lucky enough to have known [the Prince of Wales] for a long time and his father and I think the UK is very well served.”

He added that while there was “good reason to be optimistic” about the state of the planet, “America has not been doing its share lately.” Further criticism for Donald Trump came from Eduoardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian city that will host the next awards ceremony for the Earthshot Prize.

Speaking about investing in green initiatives, Paes said: "Local governments. We don't want to do any politics here, but we saw what Donald Trump did in his first term. If it was not for the local governments, for the mayors, the U.S. would be in big trouble.

"We're going to try to announce also in Rio what the local governments, especially the mayors in the US, have been achieving. So finance is our biggest challenge.

"We need to look at climate change and sustainability…as something that means a way to develop your country. So I look at Brazil. I see that we've got a big opportunity here."

The Rio mayor’s comments came during a panel discussion with Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, who said: “Cities and mayors are doers. I say it in a respectful way. Presidents, prime ministers and countries are delayers.”

Looking ahead to the awards, Uber announced that it would be introducing 'UberGreen' in Rio de Janeiro to coincide with the Earthshot Prize ceremony, which is expected to be held there in November.

Earlier in the day, William recorded a voice note to mark climate week which was played on BBC Radio 2 while Robert Irwin was a guest on the show.

During their panel discussion at Bloomberg’s London HQ, Irwin, 21, thanked the Prince for his ecological efforts on behalf of the next generation, saying: “As a young bloke I want to say a huge thank you.”

Speaking afterwards, Irwin responded to some of the comments that the prince heard about Trump. The son of Steve Irwin, the late Australian conservationist, said: “That's something that Prince William heard loudly and clearly today.

"Even if he obviously isn't in his position able to comment on that himself. But we don't have climate leadership from America from the American president."

Irwin added: "What Prince William is really good at is he is a universal voice that can speak to everyone. He can really work to break down barriers. He does a really good job at talking to anyone from any walk of life from any demographic anywhere in the world because he's been on the front line.

"He's seen the working face of conservation and he can use all of that knowledge to spread a message on a huge platform. His platform is incredible and he uses that for good and I really admire that."

Before the panel event in the City of London, Prince William was met by the glass lifts by Mike Bloomberg who then showed the prince a model of the building, which he was told has the highest sustainability rating for an office building anywhere in the world.

The building by Cannon Street Station was created by Norman Foster who has just won the competition to design the late Queen’s memorial.