The prince is working to reduce his own carbon footprint

He called on governments across the world to act before it was too late, but paid tribute to the work of groups working for sustainable development.

Greater determination and political will was needed from leaders who find it easy to ignore the problem, he said.

Writing in a Commonwealth publication, he said the challenge was to "mobilise" all of society to tackle the problem.

"Climate change is now a critical issue for every Commonwealth country," he wrote in CPQ, the quarterly magazine of the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU).

I believe that mankind has all the necessary skills, resources and ingenuity to tackle climate change effectively Prince Charles

"The challenge is to find ways to mobilise the whole of their society in tackling this ultimate threat to mankind."

The prince said that because climate change could not be seen it was easily ignored.

But he said that the world had the ability to combat global warming if it could muster the will to use it.

"I believe that mankind has all the necessary skills, resources and ingenuity to tackle climate change effectively," he wrote.

"The question is not whether we can do this, but whether we will, and whether we will do so in time to affect the outcome."

Grassroots progress

Charles said the Commonwealth's 53 countries also needed to improve levels of sustainable development.

But he said he had often been inspired by the "quiet diligence" of grassroots organisations working to achieve this.

Last week, the prince launched a project, called Accounting for Sustainability, to help organisations quantify the environmental and social costs of their actions.

His own charitable food company, Duchy Originals, is starting to measure the greenhouse gas emissions it produces and the prince has also pledged to reduce his own carbon footprint.

He is cutting down on his use of private planes and encouraging staff to use bicycles.