Daniela Relph
Royal correspondent
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
The prince will attend a forum in Monaco and “[try] to harness capitalism for good”
The Prince of Wales will travel to the South of France this weekend to call for more to be done to protect the world’s oceans.
In what his team describes as a “landmark speech” in Monaco on Sunday – World Oceans Day – he will address environmentalists and, crucially, investors, to urge them to work together to protect our oceans
Prince William will attend the Blue Economy and Finance Forum as founder of the Earthshot environmental prize which looks for solutions to the world’s climate challenges.
The forum is the curtain-raiser to the UN Oceans Conference in Nice next week.
‘The time is now’
“The Prince of Wales feels passionately about action being taken to protect and restore our oceans,” a Kensington Palace spokesperson told the BBC. “Tomorrow, he’s going to be calling for swift, immediate global action. The time is now.”
Rising temperatures, pollution and overfishing are causing huge damage to the world’s oceans and the communities that rely on them.
Events this weekend will look at the role oceans play in global trade, food security and sustainable energy.
The meeting will be held at the Grimaldi Forum, an eye-catching steel and glass venue, named after Monaco’s own royal family.
Prince Albert II of Monaco is a supporter of many oceans projects and is a key player at the forum.
“This event will be more than a forum. It will provide an unique opportunity to bring together decision makers, finance professionals, philanthropists, NGOs and players from the private sector to turn ambition into action,” he says.
Last month, Sir David Attenborough’s new film, Oceans, was released in cinemas.
It gave his lifelong perspective on the value of oceans.
“After living for nearly 100 years on this planet,” he says “I now understand that the most important place on earth is not on land but at sea and today we are living in the greatest age of ocean discovery.”
The film places the oceans as being at a crossroads, needing more action to help them continue as the “planet’s support system”.
Prince William shares that view.
He has made his admiration for Sir David, who was an inspiration for the creation of the Earthshot Prize, clear.
Sir David’s storytelling around the environment is a powerful asset in getting public attention and buy in – something the prince is acutely aware of.
Reuters
The visit to France is an insight into how Prince William sees his role in the environmental space and part of his development as a global statesman.
Also attending the forum in Monaco will be France’s President Emmanuel Macron and President Rodrigo Roblez of Costa Rica.
Why Monaco?
Because, over the coming days, gathered in this wealthy, tax haven, amid the super yachts and holidaying multi-millionaires, is some serious cash and investors willing to spend it on protecting marine life and the oceans they live in.
The prince’s speech and meetings will largely be in public on Sunday.
But he will also hold a closed, private session with experts and the investor community.
It’s a pragmatic approach to using his royal soft power to draw in people who have the resources to help generate change.
‘I have a job that should not exist’
Throughout his life, the King has used his platform to bring the conversation about the environment into the mainstream.
His son is now building on that, in his own way, to try to show that environmental solutions are worth the investment.
And the oceans can be a difficult sell.
The sheer scale of the work that needs to be done can make it less attractive to investors.
“I have a job that should not exist” is how Sam Teicher, the co-founder and chief reef officer of CoralVita often begins his pitches.
His business was the first winner of the million-pound Earthshot prize in 2021 for solutions to repair and protect oceans.
CoralVita
CoralVita’s “coral cookies” are one step in the farming effort to replenish stocks in the ocean
CoralVita grows corals to restore dying reefs.
Of this year’s Earthshot nominations, only 9% have entered the “Revive Our Oceans” category.
“We are land creatures, it is out of sight and out of mind for a lot of people,” says Sam Teicher.
He will be in Monaco this weekend and describes his approach to raising money for his business as “trying to harness capitalism for good”, stressing that “you need to be genuine and maintain integrity, you don’t want to blue wash or green wash”.
And that strategy is working.
The BBC has learnt that CoralVita has just won funding of about £6m ($8.1m) with investors led by Builders Vision – a philanthropic organisation created by Lukas Walton, whose grandparents founded the Walmart chain in the United States.
It is one of the biggest funding offers for oceans work and will mean CoralVita can scale up and accelerate its restoration projects to help preserve the ocean’s biodiversity.
The investment power of Builders Vision will now also support the Earthshot Prize in a newly announced partnership. It again highlights the impact Prince William can have in linking up environmental solutions with investors.
Royal stardust
The Prince William factor has been a huge benefit to CoralVita as it works to scale up its business.
“He helps getting in front of people who would normally not think it was investible or that it mattered,” says Mr Teicher.
“We need to expand out to bankers, government leaders, tech specialists. He gets more people around the table.”
And ultimately this is an event where money matters.
For Mr Teicher the target is always the right type of investor.
“We aren’t looking for people wanting a traditional five to seven year return,” he says. “This is a long-haul problem. We need people in it for the long haul.”
