Prince William made a personal vow to be able to look his children in the eye and promise them he did all he could to fight climate change, as he made plans to launch an ambitious environmental project to save the planet.
Taking on board the lessons from the world's most respected scientists that we have a decade to save the world, the Duke of Cambride decided to make a change.
Ahead of the release of the book 'Earthshot: How To Save Our Planet' Jason Knauf, CEO of The Royal Foundation said of William: “The challenge The Duke set himself was ‘What is the maximum positive personal contribution I can make in the next ten years in the fight against climate change? What am I going to do in the next decade that means I can look my children in the eye and say that I did my bit? Every aspect of the Prize bears the stamp of his contribution.”
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The Prize is centred on five Earthshots - Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-free World; and Fix our Climate – unifying, ambitious goals for our planet which, if achieved by 2030, will improve life for us all.
William said: "The challenge facing our planet is immense.
"We were about to enter what scientists say is the most consequential decade in history.
"Humans have taken too many fish from the sea.
"We have cleared too many trees, burnt too much fossil fuel, and produced too much waste.
"The damage we are doing is no longer incremental but exponential, and we are fast reaching a tipping point."
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Meanwhile, William has paid tribute to his late grandfather Prince Philip and dad Prince Charles, describing them as “pioneers in the environmental movement”, as he revealed his inspiration for launching his ambitious Earthshot Prize environmental project.
The Duke of Cambridge spent two years working on the project with his Royal Foundation, and the seeds of the idea were sown during a visit to Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya in autumn 2018, when he met frontline conservation workers and those from local communities.
In his introduction for the official Earthshot book, the duke describes how “a wave of global pessimism” led him to the idea of creating a £50 million prize fund over the next decade to find solutions to save the planet.
Ahead of the announcement of the first 15 finalists today (FRI), of which five will be chosen, William said a dawn visit to the Hoanib Valley in the Kunene region of Namibia made him realise the “crucial disconnect” between people on the ground and the action from world leaders.
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He said: “The facts look terrifying, and I could see that this risked making people feel like they might as well give up. The global debate felt too complex, too negative, too overwhelming.
“It seemed to me, that there was a real risk that people would switch off; that they would feel so despondent, so fearful and so powerless, there was a risk that any real hope of progress would come to a halt.
“This despondency also jars with my own experiences, and those that inspired my grandfather and father to be pioneers in the environmental movement.
“Following in their footsteps, I have seen people all over the world face what seem like insurmountable challenges yet come together with collective ambition, and a can-do-spirit, to find solutions to them.
“I strongly believe that change is possible, when you put your mind to it.”
Every year from 2021 until the end of the decade, winners in five categories will each receive £1 million after being picked by a judging panel.
They will be recognised for new ideas, technologies, policies or solutions which tackle one of the five Earthshots: Protect and restore nature; Clean our air, Revive our oceans; Build a waste-free world; and Fix our climate.
The Earthshot Prize takes its inspiration from the Apollo Moon landings, nicknamed Moonshot, which helped advance mankind's technological achievements, and features five Earthshots which, organisers say, if achieved by 2030 would improve life for all.
