Prince William Launches Multimillion Dollar Earthshot Prize for Climate Action
31 December 2019
Climate
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit the Chiatibo glacier in the Hindu Kush mountain range on Oct. 16, 2019 in the Chitral District of Khyber-Pakhunkwa Province, Pakistan. They spoke with a an expert about how climate change is impacting glacial landscapes. Pool / Samir Hussein / WireImage
Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and second in line to the throne, announced today a multimillion-dollar prize to encourage the world's greatest problem solvers to tackle the climate crisis, as Reuters reported.
The newly announced Earthshot Prize, which bills itself as "a decade of action to repair the Earth," has been planned for the last year, according to a statement from Kensington Palace. The prize will be given to five winners a year for the next 10 years starting in 2021 with the goal of funding 50 creative and achievable solutions to the world's greatest threat by 2030, as CNN reported.
<p>The name Earthshot is a play on the term moonshot, which is shorthand for labelling ambitious and groundbreaking goals. </p><p>"A set of unique challenges, rooted in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/">science</a>, will aim to generate new ways of thinking, as well as new technologies, systems, policies and solutions," says the <a href="https://earthshotprize.org/" target="_blank">Earthshot Prize</a> website. "Just as the moonshot that John F. Kennedy proposed in the 1960s catalyzed new technology such as the MRI scanner and satellite dishes, we want our Earthshot challenges to create a new wave of ambition and innovation around finding ways to help save the planet."</p>
<p>The royal family is no stranger to the climate crisis. For years, William's father Prince Charles has spoken out about <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> and the devastation that the climate crisis brings. William's younger brother, Harry, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/prince-harry-african-parks-2520495833.html" target="_self">became president of the conservation group African Parks</a> in 2017. Earlier this year, Harry and his wife dedicated their official Instagram account to organizations and people tackling the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_blank">climate crisis</a>, as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-environment-july-2639073995.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1">EcoWatch</a> reported.</p><p>Now, 37-year-old Prince William is dedicating millions to the largest crisis the world faces. </p><p>"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," Prince William said in a statement, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/31/uk/prince-william-earthshot-prize-environment-gbr-scli-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. "The next ten years presents us with one of our greatest tests — a decade of change to repair the Earth." </p>
<p>The prize aims to usher in a spirit of optimism and possibility to replace the current pessimism associated with the climate crisis, according to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2019/12/31/prince-william-launches-earthshot-prize-prestigious-environmental/" target="_blank">The Telegraph</a>. It aims to generate new technologies, policies and solutions for issues of climate and energy, nature and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">biodiversity</a>, oceans, air pollution and fresh water, according to <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-royals-earthshot/uks-prince-william-launches-prize-to-solve-earths-top-environmental-challenges-idUKKBN1YZ0V8" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p><p>The prize will lay out a set of five unique challenges rooted in science. The challenges will be announced in coming months with an annual award ceremony in different cities around the world from 2021 to 2030, as <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2019/12/31/prince-william-launches-earthshot-prize-prestigious-environmental/" target="_blank">The Telegraph</a> reported. </p><p>There are no details yet about just how much the prizes will be or who is funding it, just a statement saying that the project is supported by a global coalition of philanthropists and organizations, as <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-royals-earthshot/uks-prince-william-launches-prize-to-solve-earths-top-environmental-challenges-idUKKBN1YZ0V8" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported.</p>
<p>To help with the reveal of the Earthshot Prize, Prince William enlisted the help of acclaimed conservationist Sir David Attenborough to voice a short movie accompanying the announcement. </p><p>As <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2019/12/31/prince-william-launches-earthshot-prize-prestigious-environmental/" target="_blank">The Telegraph</a> reported, in the short film, Attenborough says, "The spirit of the moonshot can guide us today as we confront the serious challenges we face on Earth. This year Prince William and a global alliance launch the most prestigious Environment Prize in history. The Earthshot Prize. A global prize designed to motivate and inspire a new generation of thinkers, leaders and dreamers to think differently. Visionaries rewarded over the next decade for responding to the great challenges of our time."</p>
<p>In addition to a significant financial reward, winners will receive public recognition for their work that will hopefully inspire leaders in business and government to collaborate and scale the projects up, according to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2019/12/31/prince-william-launches-earthshot-prize-prestigious-environmental/" target="_blank">The Telegraph</a>.</p><p>"In just ten years we can go from fear to hope, from disaster to discovery and from inertia to inspiration. The Earthshot Prize challenges us all to make this the decade that we build a future to be proud of," said Colin Butfield, executive director of the World Wide Fund for Nature, as <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2019/12/31/prince-william-launches-earthshot-prize-prestigious-environmental/" target="_blank">The Telegraph</a> reported.</p>
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Prince William and British naturalist David Attenborough attend converse during the World Economic Forum annual meeting, on January 22 in Davos, Switzerland. Fabrice Cofferini /AFP / Getty Images
Britain's Prince William interviewed famed broadcaster David Attenborough on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Switzerland.
During the sit-down, the 92-year-old naturalist advised the world leaders and business elite gathered in Davos this week that we must respect and protect the natural world, adding that the future of its survival—as well as humanity's survival—is in our hands.
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"We can wreck it with ease," Attenborough said. "We can wreck it without even knowing we are doing it. And if we wreck the natural world, in the end, we wreck ourselves."
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The <em>Our Planet</em> narrator stressed that a healthy planet is essential for life itself, and yet people have never been more "out of touch" with the natural world.
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"We have to recognize that every breath of air we take, every mouthful of food that we take comes from the natural world. And that if we damage the natural world we damage ourselves," Attenborough said to the Duke of Cambridge when asked about how young people can make a positive impact on the environment. </p><p>"We are one coherent ecosystem. It's not just a question of beauty or interest or wonder. It's the essential ingredient, the central part of human life is a healthy planet," Attenborough said.</p><p>
Prince William asked the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> advocate why some global leaders are "faltering" on tackling environmental challenges.
</p><p>
"Because the connection between the natural world and the urban world, the human society, since the Industrial Revolution, has been remote and widening," Attenborough said. "We didn't realize the effects of what we were doing 'out there.' But now we are seeing that almost everything we do has its echoes, its duplications and implications across the natural world."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
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</p><p>He added that it was "difficult to overstate" the urgency of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change" target="_self">climate change</a> crisis.<br></p><p>
"We are now so numerous, so powerful, so all pervasive, the mechanisms we have for destruction are so wholesale and so frightening that we can exterminate whole ecosystems without even noticing it," Attenborough said.
</p><p>
In the documentary series <em>Blue Planet II</em>, Attenborough gave viewers an unflinching look at the harmful impact of human activity on our <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oceans">oceans</a>.
</p><p>
"We have now to be really aware of the dangers of what we are doing. And we already know the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics">plastic</a> problems in the seas is wreaking appalling damage upon <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a>. The extent of which we don't yet fully know," said in his chat with the prince.
</p><p>
Also in the interview, the legendary television icon spoke about how the world has changed since he started broadcasting in the 1950s
</p><p>
"I went to West Africa for the first time and it was a wonderland," Attenborough said. "You'd just step off from the beaten track... and it seemed to me as a newcomer, unexplored and exciting and everywhere you turned you saw something new."
</p><p>
"The human population was only a third of the size of what it is today...you really did get the feeling of what it might have been like to be in the Garden of Eden," he continued.
</p><p>
Attenborough, who was honored at the World Economic Forum's Crystal Awards on Monday for his leadership in the fight against climate change, remains hopeful about the planet's future.
</p><p>
"There's a source of great optimism there, we have the knowledge, we have the power, to live in harmony with that natural world," he said, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46957085" target="_blank">BBC</a>.
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Watch the full interview here:
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Prince William interviews David Attenborough – watch live</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBbQ79uA9FY" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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