Celebrities joined Prince William in London on Sunday for the inaugural awards ceremony of his Earthshot Prize, an ambitious environmental program aimed at finding new ideas and technologies around the world to tackle climate change and Earth’s most pressing challenges.
Actors Emma Thompson, Emma Watson and David Oyelowo were joining Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, in handing out the awards at Alexandra Palace in north London.
Guests were asked to “consider the environment when choosing their outfit,” so Watson arrived wearing a gown made of 10 dresses from the charity Oxfam. Kate wore an Alexander McQueen dress made for her in 2011, while her husband wore a dark green velvet blazer and a polo neck.
William and his charity, The Royal Foundation, launched the Earthshot Prize last year, inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 “Moonshot” speech that challenged and inspired Americans to go to the moon.
The prize, to be awarded to five winners every year until 2030, is billed as the most prestigious of its kind. Each winner will receive a grant worth £1 ($1.7) million to develop and scale up their ideas.
“There’s been lots of amazing ideas over the past decades but it’s the implementation that really counts, so that’s what this is all about. So, it’s really a reason to be cheerful,” Thompson said.
In a pre-recorded short video, William said: “We are alive in the most consequential time in human history.”
“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.”
The inaugural winners were selected from five different categories, and were chosen from a shortlist of 15 by judges including broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, actress Cate Blanchett and singer Shakira.
The winners are:
Protect and Restore Nature:
The Republic of Costa Rica: Costa Rica was a country that once cleared most of its forests, but it has now doubled the number of trees and is seen as a role model for others to follow. The winning project is a scheme paying local citizens to restore natural ecosystems that has led to a revival of the rainforest
Clean our Air:
Takachar, India: A portable machine created to turn agricultural waste into fertiliser so that farmers do not burn their fields and cause air pollution
Revive our Oceans:
Coral Vita, Bahamas: A project run by two best friends who are growing coral in the Bahamas, designed to restore the world’s dying coral reefs. Using special tanks, they have developed a way to grow coral up to 50 times faster than they normally take in nature
Build a Waste-Free World:
The City of Milan Food Waste Hubs, Italy: Another challenge is waste – and the city of Milan in Italy wins a prize for collecting unused food and giving it to people who need it most. The initiative has dramatically cut waste while tackling hunger
Fix our Climate:
AEM Electrolyser, Thailand/Germany/Italy: A clever design in Thailand using renewable energy to make hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is a clean gas but it is usually produced by burning fossil fuels
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Last week the duke suggested that rather than the world’s top minds setting their sights on space tourism, they should instead focus on saving Earth.
The ceremony comes days ahead of the COP26 U.N. climate change summit in Glasgow, which begins on Oct. 31