The Queen was physically absent from the climate change summit, COP26 but it was not an impediment for her to have a special participation virtually and give an emotional speech where she recalled the work for the environment of her late husband, Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The monarch appeared in a video dressed in green with a butterfly brooch, on her right side you could see the beautiful photograph of the Duke of Edinburgh surrounded by monarch butterflies, that photograph is a symbol of the Duke’s commitment to the care of the environment something that the Queen did not hesitate to mention during her speech.
Queen Elizabeth’s speech at the COP26 summit
“I am pleased to welcome you to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, and it is perhaps fitting that you have gathered in Glasgow, the former heart of the industrial revolution, but which is now the perfect place to tackle climate change. This is a commitment I am especially happy to honour, as the impact of human progress on the environment was a very important issue for my dear late husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. I remember well that in 1969 he said at an academic meeting: ‘If the situation of global pollution is not critical at this time it is certain that it will become increasingly intolerable in a very short time. If we fail to meet this challenge, all other problems will pale to a head of death,'” the Queen said.
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“It is a source of great pride to me that the leading role my husband played in encouraging people to protect our fragile planet lives on through the work of our eldest son, Charles, and his eldest son, William. I couldn’t be more proud of them. In fact, I have gained great comfort and inspiration from the tireless enthusiasm of people of all ages, especially young people, in asking everyone to play their part,” he emphasized.
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“In the coming days, the world has the opportunity to join the shared goal of creating a safer and more stable future for people and for the planet on which we depend. None of us underestimates the challenges ahead, but history has shown that when nations come together in a common cause, there is always room for hope. Working side by side, we have the ability to solve the most insurmountable problems and to triumph over the greatest of adversities,” added Queen Elizabeth.
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“For over seventy years, I have been fortunate to meet many of the world’s great leaders. And maybe I’ve come to understand a little bit what made them special. It has sometimes been observed that what leaders do today for their people is government and politics. But what they do for the people of tomorrow, that’s political skill. I, for one, hope that this conference will be one of those rare occasions when everyone will have the opportunity to rise above the politics of the moment and achieve true statesmanship. Many people are hopeful that the legacy of this summit, written in history books that have not yet been printed, will be described about how leaders did not pass up the opportunity and that they responded to the demands of those future generations. That at this conference a community of nations came together with determination and a desire to have a plan to address the impact of climate change and recognize that the time of words has now shifted to the time of action.”
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He concluded by saying, “Of course, the benefits of such actions will not be available to all of us who are here today: none of us will live forever. But we don’t do it for ourselves, but for our children and our children’s children, and for those who will follow in their footsteps. I therefore wish you all the luck in this important effort.”
