King Charles unveils climate countdown clock at London summit

The clocks aim to spur the world into crucial action to limit effects of global warming

Britain's King Charles and London Mayor Sadiq Khan activated the 'Climate Clock'. Pool

King Charles III attended a key climate summit in London, where he helped unveil a countdown clock showing the time remaining before the catastrophic effects of global warming become unavoidable.

The king visited the Climate Innovation Forum on Wednesday, where the five-metre tall clock was launched at Guildhall in the City of London.

The unveiling was accompanied by the launch of 150 similar clocks across London and other major cities in the UK, the largest being located at Piccadilly Circus.

The clocks aim to spur the world into action to limit global warming to 1.5°C, a crucial goal that must be met if total climate breakdown is to be avoided.

Humanity has just six years left to meet this goal, according to data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The first climate countdown clocks were launched in New York in September 2020. Since then, clocks have also been unveiled in Berlin, Seoul, Rome and Glasgow.

Upon his arrival at the forum, King Charles was met by Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero Graham Stuart and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who was also on stage officially switch on the clock.

In a meeting with business leaders, the king heard discussions on how to rapidly finance, replicate and scale innovation, as well as technological solutions, towards a more sustainable future.

King Charles has long promoted environmental causes and is fully expected to continue this tradition following his coronation earlier this year.

In February the king hosted a reception in support of global biodiversity on behalf of the UK government, attended by international ministers, civil society, private sector and indigenous representatives.

Last November he hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace ahead of the Cop27 Summit.

The reception brought together over 200 international business leaders, decision-makers and NGOs to mark the end of the UK’s presidency of Cop26 and look ahead to the Cop27 Summit in Egypt.

The Cop28 Summit will take place this year in Dubai from November 30. The President of the upcoming summit, Sultan Al Jaber, was also in attendance at the Climate Innovation Forum.

Earlier in the day, King Charles hosted astronauts, business leaders, environmentalists and scientists at Buckingham Palace to unveil a seal to mark the launch of the ‘Astra Carta’ framework, which is aimed at inspiring sustainability across the space industry.

Before unveiling the seal, the king said the event was held to try to ensure “the protection of outer space”.

Guests who attended the event included Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, British astronaut Tim Peake, the UK’s newest astronaut Rosemary Coogan, the world’s first disabled astronaut John McFall, Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Sir Brian May and representatives from the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency, Nasa and other international space agencies.

The Climate Clock in the Manhattan borough of New York in April 2021. Reuters

A climate clock showing the time remaining before a global temperature rise of 1.5°C is no longer avoidable in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Getty

Activists display a climate clock in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. Reuters

Climate protesters demonstrate in front of a climate clock in Rome. Getty

The Climate Crisis Clock hangs at the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany. Getty

The world’s largest climate clock in Prague. Reuters