Prince William awards debut Earthshot Prize
October 18, 2021
Projects from Costa Rica, Italy, the Bahamas and India were the first winners of the Earthshot Prize on Sunday.
The environmental award, created by Queen Elizabeth II's grandson Prince William, was set up to inspire people around the world to find solutions through new technologies or policies to pressing environmental problems.
Sunday's ceremony comes just weeks ahead of the 2021 United Nations climate change summit COP26, which will be held in Glasgow under the presidency of the United Kingdom.
The British royal family has recently made a series of comments on environmental issues. Notably, Queen Elizabeth II said she was irritated by world leaders who discuss climate change but take no concrete action.
Prince William urges unity 'in repairing our planet'
"We are alive in the most consequential time in human history," Prince William said in a prerecorded video.
"The actions we choose or choose not to take in the next 10 years will determine the fate of the planet for the next 1,000," he said.
"Many of the answers are already out there," he added. "But we need everyone, from all parts of society to raise their ambition and unite in repairing our planet."
Top winners
Each winner of the five categories will receive a grant worth 1 million pounds ($1.37 million, €1.19 million) to develop their ideas.
The Italian city of Milan won the "Build a Waste-Free World" award for its Food Waste Hubs program, which recovers food from supermarkets and restaurants and distributes it to those in need.
Costa Rica's government received the "Protect and Restore Nature" prize for its programs paying citizens to plant trees and restore ecosystems.
An Indian organization that creates fuel from agricultural waste and a farm in the Bahamas restoring dying coral reefs were also among the winners.
Prince William and his charity, The Royal Foundation, launched the Earthshot Prize last year, inspired by former US President John F. Kennedy's 1962 "Moonshot'' speech that challenged US citizens to go to the moon.
The prestigious prize is to be awarded to five winners every year until 2030.
mvb/fb (AP, Reuters)