The Prince of Wales has praised the winners of the 2022 Earthshot Awards for providing solutions to tackle the greatest challenges facing the planet.
Prince William spoke at the prize ceremony in Boston, attended by environmental activists, leading campaigners and a host of famous names.
The Prince and Princess of Wales walked the green carpet at the event which was held in the US for the first time. Prince William initiated Earthshot in 2021 with the aim of awarding fifty projects over ten years which provide innovative solutions to environmental problems affecting the planet.
There were loud cheers for the couple as they arrived for the ceremony which was held at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston.
The Princess of Wales kept to the focus on sustainability by choosing a hired gown for the evening. She also wore an emerald choker once used by Diana, Princess of Wales and Queen Mary.
Among the stars attending the ceremony were Oscar winning actor, Rami Malek and Golden Globe winning actress, Catherine O’Hara as well as football legend, David Beckham, a friend of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Chloe x Halle, Billie Eilish and Ellie Goulding all walked the green carpet at the star studded event, ahead of the presentations.
Among the musicians taking to the stage for the awards ceremony was long time environmental campaigner, Annie Lennox. Speaking ahead of the ceremony, she said ”it encourages me to see that the Prince and Princess of Wales are taking action on this, there are so many things that they could support but they know, they have children, their children’s future, it’s right across the board.”
The event was hosted by Clara Amfo and Daniel Dae Kim, Central to the ceremony was the focus on protecting the environment, with the Prince of Wales saying ”For too long, many of us have taken for granted everything our planet gives us.”
The Prince, who first handed out the Earthshot Prizes in London in 2021, highlighted ongoing issues, saying ”This year, we’ve seen the influence of climate change like never before, with record high temperatures and extreme weather events causing devastation across every continent, affecting people’s health and livelihoods.”
The Princess of Wales was among those presenting the five prizes which come with a grant of £1 million each to support innovative environmental projects. Fifteen finalists were short listed with winners coming from around the world. This year’s prizes went to a wide range of projects.
Protect and Restore Nature was awarded to Kheyti in India which works with farmers to protect crops from extreme weather and pests.
Fix Our Climate went to 4401.earch in Oman which turns carbon dioxide into a rock, peridotite, as a cheap and sustainable way of storing carbon. The rock is present in large quantities in Oman as well as Europe, Asia and the United States.
The Build a Waste Free World prize went to Notpla in the UK which turns seaweed into a natural and bio-degradable plastic that has already been used to make over a million take away boxes for Just Eat.
The Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef won the Revive Our Oceans prize. The project in Australia protects the ocean using traditional and digital methods with the Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef involved in a training programme to support the seas.
Mukuru Stoves in Kenya was named winner in the Clean Our Air award. Mukuru makes stoves powered by charcoal, sugarcane and wood instead of solid fuels, thus cutting air pollution.
The Prince of Wales said ”I believe that the Earthshot solutions you have seen this evening prove we can overcome our planet’s greatest challenges,” and added ”by supporting and scaling them, we can change our future.”
The Earthshot Awards came at the end of a high profile, three day visit to Boston for the Prince and Princess of Wales. The ceremony itself will be shown on the BBC on December 4th and on US TV on December 5th 2022.
