What Prince William Said About Africa Two Years After Race Scandal

Prince William said African people are "disproportionately affected" by climate change, two years after he was accused of racism following a visit to the same charity event.

In 2021, the Prince of Wales sparked an outcry by telling guests at the Tusk Conservation Awards how "the increasing pressure on Africa's wildlife and wild spaces as a result of human population presents a huge challenge for conservationists."

His words then were interpreted by some as an unfair attack on African people, with Franklin Leonard, a movie executive and founder of the Black List, writing: "'There are too many Africans' is quite the position."

William returned to the Tusk Awards on Monday, even as extracts from a bombshell new royal book, Endgame, triggered a rash of headlines about the monarchy, Meghan Markle and race.

That backdrop would have made William's choice of words even more delicate as he returned to the subject of the relationship between the population of Africa and climate change.

The Prince of Wales said: "Africa, its people, and its biodiversity are disproportionately affected by the impacts of a warming planet. Impacts which are, for the most part, not driven by those most affected.

"Those living in Africa emit just a quarter of the emissions than that of the average global citizen. Yet the African continent is set to incur disproportionate loss and damage from climate change.

"But we do have the power to change this, and the stories we have heard tonight provide both optimism and hope. By investing in nature-based solutions we can help mitigate the worst effects of our warming planet and put it back on a healthier path."

Interestingly, William's comments in 2023 echo an element of the backlash he experienced two years earlier, when Mordecai Ogada, a Kenyan ecologist, said: "The fact is, if we look at absolute figures, Africa is more sparsely populated than Europe or Asia, and the fact is the absolute numbers of people in Africa are far from being a problem for our environment. More so for the very light footprint of the people here.

"The average Western family of five will have a carbon footprint of a few hundred Maasai tribesmen in Kenya."

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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