King Charles III gave lawmakers a word of caution on environmental issues and natural resources during his address to Congress on Tuesday afternoon.
The British monarch, an outspoken environmentalist, devoted a portion of his speech to conservation, invoking the words of former President Theodore Roosevelt and framing the protection of natural resources as a national security imperative.
“Even as we celebrate the beauty that surrounds us, our generation must decide how to address the collapse of critical natural systems, which threatens far more than the harmony and essential diversity of nature,” the king said.
“We ignore, at our peril, the fact that these natural systems — in other words, nature’s own economy — provide the foundation for our prosperity and our national security,” he said.
Some of his remarks on the environment drew bipartisan applause.
“We must also reflect on our shared responsibility to safeguard nature, our most precious and irreplaceable asset,” he said.
The king noted that the United States and the United Kingdom are engaged in partnerships on fusion energy and artificial intelligence, which he said “hold the promise of saving countless lives.”
King Charles said “the disastrously melting ice caps of the Arctic” underscore the need for a strong military alliance between the United States and its allies.
