Prince William announced on New Year’s Eve that he will soon launch a multimillion-dollar environmental prize aimed at creating optimism and advancements around climate change solutions.
Kensington Palace shared a video on Instagram announcing the new “Earthshot Prize,” named after the “moonshot” concept inspired by the 1969 moon landing and scientific advancements. The prize will go to five winners each year for the next 10 years starting in 2021, with the goal of finding 50 solutions to major environmental problems over the next decade. The award will include a monetary prize of an undisclosed amount, though it has been described as being millions of dollars.
“Just as the moonshot that John F. Kennedy proposed in the 1960s catalysed new technology such as the MRI scanner and satellite dishes, we want our Earthshot challenges to create a new wave of ambition and innovation around finding ways to help save the planet,” the Earthshot Prize website reads.
The latest U.N. climate report, released in September, painted a dire picture, warning that some ice melt may be irreversible and cause a threatening rise in sea level.
“This report highlights the urgency of timely, ambitious, coordinated, and enduring action. What’s at stake is the health of ecosystems, wildlife, and importantly the world we leave our children,” said Ko Barrett, vice chairwoman of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and deputy assistant administrator for research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The combination of sea level rise and warming ocean temperatures is also expected to lead to more severe and frequent storms.