According to reports, British royal Prince Charles has achieved his target of making his household carbon neutral. He achieved this by taking fewer chartered planes, choosing to travel by train instead and by using a Jaguar which runs on cooking oil. Overall, Prince Charles managed to cut his emissions by 9% to 3,775 tonnes between 1st April 06 and 31 March 2007. These emissions he offset by investing in an agency that promotes tree planting and sustainable energy projects.

The prince has always been environmentally friendly – his Highgrove estate in England is an orgranic farm – and now he has tried to add to his green credentials by becoming carbon neutral.

Printed on recycled paper using a vegetable-based ink, the report showed that the prince had managed to reduce the number of plane and helicopter journeys he was taking, started using green electricity at Highgrove, and had converted his Land Rover and Jaguar to run on biodiesel fuel. He is hoping that in the future, the royal train will also be converted to run on biodiesel fuel.

It’s not all been plain sailing for the Prince though – earlier in the year, he was criticised for flying to New York to accept an environmental reward. The ceremony was one of 86 trips overseas that he made. However, a spokesperson said that the prince had used carbon offsetting by funding tree planting and other activities to help remove carbon dioxide from the air to help neutralise the effects of his air travel. In total, the prince is estimated to have spent £30,000 ($60,000) on the offsetting of his carbon emissions.

Friends of the Earth, and environmental group, have been quick to praise the prince’s actions. “The fact that he reduced his carbon emissions by 9% in the last year alone highlights the potential for making rapid cuts in the nation’s contribution to climate change,” they said.

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