* Crossposted in CROSSFIRE

From:
http://tinyurl.com/an2uhq

The Prince of hypocrites: Charles embarks on 16,000 mile 'green' crusade...
aboard a private jet

By Rebecca English
Last updated at 12:12 AM on 14th February 2009

Prince Charles was accused of hypocrisy last night for using a private jet
on an 'environmental' tour of South America.

The prince will travel to the region next month in a visit costing an
estimated 300,000 pounds as part of his crusade against global warming.

He will use a luxury airliner to transport himself, the Duchess of Cornwall
and a 14-strong entourage to Chile, Brazil and Ecuador on a 16,400-mile
round trip.
Prince Charles and Camilla

Another holiday: Prince Charles and Camilla will go to Chile, Brazil and Ecuador

Aides insist it is impossible for the prince to complete the ten-day
official visit using scheduled flights as he will undertake almost 40
engagements.

They also stress that he will offset his carbon emissions.

But last night critics seized on his choice of transport. Labour MP Ian
Davidson, a member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: 'It
would be hard to make this up.

'To hear that the Prince of Wales is flying to South America to save the
environment and taking 14 staff on his jet at hideous cost just for this
trip is the height of the absurd.

'At a time when the greed of bankers is causing much adverse comment I
would have thought that Prince Charles would have had more sense than to be
so financially and ecologically wasteful.'

Luxury: Charles's Airbus A319, like above, is equipped with his own VIP suite

The prince's determination to bring environmental issues to the forefront
of public policymaking has been regularly praised but has also left him
open to accusations of hypocrisy.

He was roundly criticised for flying first class to the U.S. with a
20-strong entourage to collect an environmental award in 2007.

He has also been pilloried for continuing to use gas-guzzling transport,
although he has converted his classic Aston Martin to run on biofuel made
from wine.

Charles and Camilla will arrive for their spring tour in Chile on March 8
and end their trip with a visit to the Galapagos Islands to mark the 200th
anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin.

The couple will be flying with an exclusive Portuguese-based charter
company, which cannot be named for security reasons, in an Airbus A319.

As a commercial aircraft it would have carried up to 134 passengers but now
seats just 29.

The company boasts its private jets have an exclusive 'VIP lounge' at the
front of the cabin which can be split into a master suite with its own
toilet and shower. The aircraft also boasts a satellite phone, printer, fax
and laptop sockets and 'luxury VIP leather seats' with personal DVD
players.

The cost of the trip will not be revealed until the prince releases his
annual accounts later this year but it is expected to exceed £300,000.

Charles intends to use the trip to focus on issues of environmental
sustainability and climate change as well as the wider ties between Britain
and South America.

In Brazil, where he will visit Rio de Janeiro and the Amazon, he will
concentrate on the problem of tropical deforestation, while in Chile he
will try to enlist the help of the business community in building
partnerships with the public sector to fight global warming.

Clive Alderton, the prince's deputy private secretary, stressed yesterday
that the prince had undertaken the trip at the specific request of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

'The issues of climate change and creating a high growth, low carbon
economy are of great importance to both the Foreign Secretary and the Prime
Minister,' he said.

'As the Government put it to me: we are fortunate to have, in the Prince of
Wales, someone with 40 years of work and experience on environmental issues
who can help lead the charge for Britain in the battle for countries which
sit on the frontline of climate change.' As for the question of how much
the tour would cost the public purse, Clarence House stressed that it had
taken advice from the Government given the current economic climate.

Mr Alderton said: 'In this time of economic uncertainty we are extremely
mindful of the cost and sought advice from the Government, who confirmed
they wanted the trip to proceed given the importance of the strategic
priorities that the visit would address and the bilateral diplomatic
relations it would strengthen.'

He added: 'We looked at all available options of travel but the
impracticability of moving around the region on scheduled flights meant
that we had to take the charter option.

'Financially, we have secured the best deal that we possibly can.'

Last year Charles launched The Prince's Rainforests Project.

It works with governments, business, non-governmental bodies and
individuals to increase global recognition of the contribution of tropical
deforestation to climate change and to find ways to make the rainforests
worth more alive than dead.

Later,
Sean

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