QUEEN'S GREEN ANGER

She criticises world leaders not committing to climate summit and says: ‘It’s really irritating when they talk, but don’t DO’

THE Queen made a rare public interven- tion on the climate change crisis yesterday, saying she is ‘irritated’ by people who ‘talk but don’t do’.

She made the pointed comment while attending the opening of the Welsh parliament in Cardiff.

The 95-year-old monarch was speaking to the Duchess of Cornwall and Elin Jones, the parliament’s presiding officer, when her remarks were picked up on the event’s live stream.

The Queen referred to the upcoming COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, which she and other senior royals are due to attend. She said: ‘Extraordinary isn’t it... I’ve been hearing all about COP... still don’t know who is coming... no idea.

‘We only know about people who are not coming...

‘It’s really irritating when they talk, but they don’t do.’ The

Queen, who was using a walking stick in public for the second time this week, expressed the remarks emphatically and gesticulated with her gloved hand.

Miss Jones replied: ‘Exactly. It’s a time for doing... and watching your grandson [Prince William] on the television this morning saying there’s no point going to space, we need to save the Earth.’

The Queen smiled proudly and said: ‘Yes, I read about it.’

The remarks were a rare public insight into the politically neutral – and consistently tight-lipped – monarch’s personal views on an issue of global importance.

She attended the Welsh parliament alongside Camilla and the Prince of Wales, a committed environmentalist who had made similar remarks earlier this week.

The Queen did famously say she hoped ‘people will think very carefully about the future’ ahead of the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, which was viewed by many at the time as a direct attempt to influence the vote.

Yesterday’s remarks, although also made in a public setting, were not political – simply a personal expression of frustration at inaction on climate change.

Among those still not confirmed to attend the UN’s Cop26 conference, which starts on October 31, are Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, Chinese president Xi Jinping, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro have also not committed to being in Glasgow for the event.

US President Joe Biden confirmed only yesterday that he will attend. America’s charge d’affaires to the UK, Philip Reeker, said the summit in Glasgow will be ‘a pivotal moment on the road towards a more secure, prosperous and sustainable future for our planet’.

Although the Queen has left environmental campaigning to her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, her son Charles, and grandson William, it is an issue she quietly takes a great interest in.

In a speech to the Scottish parliament earlier this month, she said: ‘Next month, I will be attending COP26 events in Glasgow. The eyes of the world will be on the United Kingdom – and Scotland, in particular – as leaders come together to address the challenges of climate change.

‘There is a key role for the Scottish parliament, as with all parliaments, to help create a better, healthier future for us all, and to engage with the people they represent – especially our young people.’

In 2019, she used part of her televised Christmas speech to praise young climate change activists and their sense of purpose.

She has also introduced environmentally friendly initiatives at Buckingham Palace and other royal residences, including monitoring energy consumption through a network of smart meters, installing energy-efficient LED lighting where possible and using combined heat and power plants and boilers to convert natural gas into electricity.

Windsor Castle gets 40 per cent of its electricity from two hydro-electric turbines on the River Thames, and the Queen famously used to go round turning the palace lights off.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment last night.

Earlier this week, Charles, 72, also expressed his frustration that the world’s leaders had taken ‘far too long’ to take action. He said: ‘They just talk. The problem is to get action on the ground, which is what I’ve been trying to do for the last 40 years, by bringing together people from every kind of industry and walk of life, to try to create an awareness of what needs to be done.’

This week Prince William hit out at billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos for pioneering space tourism over repairing the planet.

‘Better, healthier future for us all’