Prince Charles warns financial sector and charities of fossil fuel risk

Prince of Wales speaks out on the benefits of divesting from oil, coal and gas and investing in renewables on financial and ethical grounds

The fortunes of fossil fuel companies will be "severely impacted" by a global climate change agreement, Prince Charles warned a financial sector summit in London on Tuesday. He also warned charities holding coal, oil or gas investments that these assets could "represent a significant conflict to their overall mission".

The heir to the throne's intervention comes just weeks before a crunch UN summit in Paris at which the world's nations are expected to produce an agreement to tackle global warming. It also follows a series of warnings that fossil fuels pose a risk to not only the climate, but also investors' capital, with Bank of England governor Mark Carney warning in September of "potentially huge" losses.