The Duke of Cambridge has launched the £50m Earthshot Prize in an effort to solve the worlds greatest problems by 2030. This launch comes after two years of work by Prince William and The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to develop a project which will support the global effort to protect and restore the environment.
Since then, a global coalition of individuals, businesses and organisations has been established to maximise the impact of the prize, a coalition that will continue to grow over the years.The £50m Earthshot prize will see five, £1m prizes awarded each year for the next 10 years, to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations – scientists, activists, economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities, and countries – anyone whose workable solutions make a substantial contribution to achieving the Earthshots.
The five Earthshots are: Protect and restore nature,Clean our air,Revive our oceans,Build a waste-free world and Fix our climate. Each Earthshot is underpinned by scientifically agreed targets including the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other internationally recognised measures to help repair the planet. Together, they form a unique set of challenges rooted in science, which aim to generate new ways of thinking, as well as new technologies, systems, policies and solutions.
“The plan is to really galvanise and bring together the best minds, the best possible solutions, to fixing and tackling some of the world’s greatest environmental challenges. We’ve got to harness our ingenuity and our ability to invent. The next ten years are a critical decade for change. Time is of the essence, which is why we believe that this very ambitious global prize is the only way forward,” said Prince William .
The five-stage prize process to select a winner for each Earthshot has been designed in partnership with the Centre for Public Impact and a range of international experts. Nominations will be screened as part of an independent assessment process run by Deloitte, the initiative’s implementation partner. A panel of experts will support the judging process, making recommendations to the Prize Council who will select the final winners.
A series of five short films have also been released, bringing each Earthshot to life. Produced by Silverback Films, the films are narrated by young climate activists including Bindi and Robert Irwin. Nominations will open on 1 November, with over 100 nominating partners from across the world being invited to submit nominations of those individuals, communities, businesses and organisations who could win the Earthshot Prize.
An awards ceremony will take place in different cities across the world each year between 2021 and 2030, at which the five winners for each of the Earthshots will be selected from 15 finalists.
