Prince William: Let’s focus on saving Earth, not exploring space for new planet to live on

His comments come as world leader and scientists continue to grapple with the climate change emergency and as activists demand less talk and more concrete action.

While the Prince did not directly name billionaires like Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson who are busy launching out-of-this world trips as part of their own commercial space tourism programs, he made it clear that making Earth a better place to live amid the growing threat of climate change should be prioritized to protect future generations.

“If we’re not careful we’re robbing from our children’s future through what we do now,” he said as he explained that becoming a parent had probed him to look at the world differently.

“I want the things that I’ve enjoyed — the outdoor life, nature, the environment — I want that to be there for my children,” he said. “And not just my children but everyone else’s children.”

The duke has 3 children with his wife, Kate; Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

William’s words came ahead of this weekend’s Earthshot Prize ceremony in London, an initiative founded by the prince in an effort to acknowledge those working to find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues.

Shatner’s flight, along with three other civilian astronauts, is the latest installment in a private space movement that has outpaced NASA.

The crew’s 10-minute flight came three months after Bezos flew to space on his company’s New Shepard rocket. (Amazon founder Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

“What you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine,” Shatner told Bezos after the mission, whilst describing the beauty of the scenes he had witnessed.

The royals have long campaigned on environmental issues, despite receiving some backlash regarding their own jet set lifestyle and carbon footprints in recent years.

During the interview, William credited his father, Prince Charles with working for several decades to bring awareness to the dangers planet Earth is facing.

In an interview with the BBC earlier this week, Charles spoke out about his personal efforts to combat the climate crisis, which include pumping wine and cheese byproducts into his Aston Martin sports car to reduce his carbon footprint.

When asked if it took a lot of energy “to heat a palace” the prince said he had installed solar panels at Clarence House, one of the many royal residencies.

New research published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change revealed that at least 85 percent of the world’s population has experienced weather events made worse by climate change.

The research comes as those in their teens and 20s say they are becoming increasingly anxious about what their future holds — from floods to wildfires to extreme heat waves.

In a survey across 17 countries, the Pew Research Center found that more and more people regard climate change as a growing threat.

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