May 2, 2007, 13:00 GMT
Britain's Prince Charles has made a "mayday call" to business leaders over the dangers of climate change.
Britian's Prince Charles with Camilla, 28 January 2007. EPA/PETER FOLEY
Charles called for action yesterday (01.05.07) while speaking at a summit for more than 1,200 business chiefs at St James's Palace.
He told powerful bosses from the likes of Barclays Bank and British Airways: "When I was serving in the Royal Navy mayday, mayday, mayday was the distress call we used in cases of emergency. It still is, and this is an emergency we face. If the scientific consensus is right we need to act very rapidly indeed."
The eco-friendly royal went on to compare the fight against global warming with the Second World War.
He said: "We can do it. Just think what they did in the last war. Things that seemed impossible were achieved almost overnight."
The prince's call for action was beamed to other countries via video-link, and by the end of the day more than a thousand companies had pledged to work with employees, suppliers and customers to reduce their carbon emissions.
In January, Prince Charles received an award for his work on environmental causes from Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment.
(C) BANG Media International
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