Prince Harry spent UN Climate Week 2024 bringing attention to his passion projects in mental health, the environment, and the dangers of social media. But Prince Harry also spoke of how his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have further fueled his desire to change the world.

On September 24, the Duke of Sussex spoke about sustainable travel and how parenting has increased his interest in environmental issues during an event celebrating the fifth anniversary of his nonprofit organization, Travalyst.

“People born in 2020 are likely to experience eight times as many heat waves, four times as many droughts, three times as many crop failures, and three times as many river floods as people born in 1960,” he said in a speech at the event.

Reflecting on his own children, Harry admitted, “As a father of two, that is absolutely frightening.”

The organization partners with leading travel brands and technology companies to transform the tourism industry by prioritizing the environment and community well-being along with economic growth.

Drawing from his extensive experience, Harry described the “double-edged sword” nature of tourism, describing travel as “a force that has the potential to do a great deal of good, but also the potential to do serious harm if mismanaged.”

“We are looking at 1.8 billion international arrivals every year, which is almost double the number just two decades ago,” he said, adding that “this growth will not be sustainable unless we prioritize people and places, not just profits.”

On the impact of climate change on local communities, the Duke of Sussex said, “The level of suffering is grievous, and the cumulative cost of recovery will set us back forever.”

The Duke also said that a balanced approach to travel that takes into account the impact on local communities and ecosystems is “essential.”

Travalist's efforts include the development of tools to estimate flight emissions and help travelers make environmentally friendly choices. The organization plans to leverage the combined market value of its partners, about $3 trillion, to expand these efforts to lodging and other aspects of travel.

Prince Harry also spoke about children at several other Climate Week events, revealing in a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative that Archie and Lilibet were in his cell phone lock screen photo.

Also at a reception for the HALO Trust, a landmine clearance charity that was the spiritual home of his mother, Princess Diana, Prince Harry spoke of how his children have given him great drive to make a difference.

“Since my first visit to Huambo in 2019, my life and the world have changed so much,” Harry told the audience, referring to his visit to the same Angolan minefield his mother visited in 1997. 'In those five years, I became a father for the second time.' [You don't need children to care about the future of the planet, but I know that my mother was terrified that someone's child or grandchild would live in a world still infested with landmines.”