Here’s a plan for green King Charles: sell the family silver and use the cash to save the planet | John Vidal | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/06/king-charles-green-environmental-reforms-monarchyhe receives a quarter of the profits made by the crown estate, the monarch’s property corporation which owns nearly 8,000 sq km of farmland and is valued by Forbes at more than $17bn (£16.3bn). It is no wonder that Charles backs renewable energy. Aside from vast acres of wild lands suitable for onshore wind, the estate owns most of the British foreshore to a distance of 12 miles – perfect for selling leases for offshore wind, tidal and wave power.
It might not go down well to do a Patagonia and try to give it all away to fight climate breakdown. But he could start his green reforms of the monarchy by publicly divesting the institution of all fossil fuel interests. Again, we do not know what these investments amount to, but it is likely to be in the many hundreds of millions of pounds. Far from diminishing his wealth, the Treasury might even see divestment as a shrewd move if Britain is to reach net zero emissions.