Prince Harry’s travel to China raises eyebrows, contradicts his climate change mission

Prince Harry flew from Los Angeles to Shanghai to talk about saving the environment and promoting eco-friendly travel. In China, he spoke at a tourism event as the founder of Travalyst, a group that supports sustainable travel.

Travalyst, Prince Harry’s group, is promoting a carbon calculator made with help from big travel and tech companies. This tool has been criticised before for showing lower emissions from flights.

Travalyst says people should pick closer travel spots to reduce carbon impact. They aim to give clear info about flight emissions.

The UK government says one return business class flight on this route causes 4,575 kg CO2, which is likely to melt 13.5 square metres of Arctic summer sea ice. but, Travalyst’s tool shows only 2,600kg, The Times reported.

This raised questions about the message he shared at the event. According to his speech, climate change is not only an environmental issue but also a business concern.

Prince Harry’s group, Travalyst, promotes eco-friendly travel. He has travelled abroad only three times for its work in six years, doing most meetings online, A spokesperson told The Times.

Started in 2019 with partners like Google and Booking.com, Travalyst employs 20 people. It advises people to travel locally and take trains when possible. If flying, it urges people to choose flights with lower carbon emissions.

Reducing impact on environment

In its five-year milestone report, Travalyst highlights these steps as key ways travellers can reduce their impact on the environment.

“When considering how to get there, think about low-carbon transport options such as rail. And, if flying is your only option, look for carbon emissions information when booking flights and prioritise those that have lower-than-average emissions,” says the report.

Travalyst promotes a flight carbon calculator called the Travel Impact Model (TIM), developed by Google. It helps travellers see the climate impact of their flights.

Nevertheless, experts say it may show lower emissions than the real impact. Greenpeace criticised it in 2022 for “airbrushing” effects like heat-trapping condensation trails.

Some experts feel the model makes airlines look better than they are. Travalyst claims the model now includes more greenhouse gases and better estimates for planes carrying cargo and people.