The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William recently launched the Earthshot Prize, a global award that is aimed at solving the most pressing and the greatest environmental problems. It is designed to “incentivise change and help to repair our planet over the next ten years.”
Each year, five prizes carrying a prize money of 1 million pounds will be awarded for a total of 10 years. This will help provide solutions to 50 of the world’s greatest environmental problems.
The Earthshot Prize Council includes individuals from wide-ranging sectors such as business, sports, and entertainment that champion the cause of environmental protection. Apart from Prince William, the council comprises of distinguished personalities such as Sir David Attenborough, Jack Ma, Indra Nooyi, Cate Blanchett, Queen Rania Al Abdullah, and Shakira, among many others.
The prize will be awarded in 5 categories: protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world, and fix our climate.
The prize has taken inspiration from American President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot, which brought together the entire world to develop innovative technology in a mission to put man on the moon.
“The Earth is at a tipping point and we face a stark choice: either we continue as we are and irreparably damage our planet, or we remember our unique power as human beings and our continual ability to lead, innovate and problem-solve. People can achieve great things. The next ten years present us with one of our greatest tests – a decade of action to repair the Earth.”
The nominations for the inaugural prize open on 1st November this year and the first set of awards will be given in the autumn of 2021 in London.
