The Prince of Wales is feeling “more optimistic than ever” about the planet’s environmental future after evidence his Earthshot Prize finalists are making a difference.
William said “solutions are working. Capital is moving. Policy is shifting” as he addressed an assembly celebrating the impact that prize-winners have made helping to “repair” the planet.
The future king is halfway through his 10-year Earthshot Prize project to recognise innovative solutions to solve environmental problems and scale-up the ideas.
He told invited guests gathered at the Guildhall in the City of London: “Our finalists are exemplars of a wider movement that is proving that we can turn the tide within this decade.”
William said Earthshot had supported 75 finalists who, during the past five years, had protected and restored 1.4 million square kilometres of land, ocean and coastline, saved 21 million tonnes of water and removed, upcycled or avoided almost half a million tonnes of waste.
William will stage his 2026 environmental awards in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, in November. He sees the Commonwealth country’s huge number of young people as a potential driving force for change.
He has managed to attract a host of stars to his cause, from Hollywood actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey and Cate Blanchett to broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough and former prime minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern.
Awards are presented in five categories, or Earthshots: protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.
The prince, who arrived at the Guildhall on a Transport for London, sustainably powered bus, added: “One day people will look back at this decade and ask: when the evidence was clear, what did we do with it?
“When we saw forests being restored, did we help restoration spread? When we saw clean air policies working, did we help other cities follow?”
He concluded with the words: “The challenge can still feel immense but the proof is now in front of us. And history will ask what we did with it. “
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