Singapore: Prince William has issued a rallying cry against the forces of climate change denialism and defeatism at his annual Earthshot Prize for environmental innovation, where five winners from around the world were awarded $1.91 million.
The heir to the British throne was in Singapore on Tuesday night for the gala awards ceremony, at which Oscar-winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett was a presenter and high-profile attendees included former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
Prince William, right, joins actress Cate Blanchett on the Earthshot Prize green carpet in Singapore on Tuesday night.Credit: Getty Images
In a speech at the event, Prince William said the achievements of the winners and finalists were a reminder that “the spirit of ingenuity and the ability to inspire change surrounds us all”.
“I choose to believe that future generations will look back on this decade as the point at which we globally took collective action for our planet … the moment we refused to accept the voices of denial and defeatism and instead became the architects of change towards a healthy and sustainable world,” he said.
“We owe it to the generations that will follow us to work together both for their future and for the future of our planet.”
This Earthshot winners were announced in five categories – protecting and restoring nature, clean air, reviving oceans, waste eradication and tackling climate change – with each receiving prize money of 1 million pounds ($1.91 million) and a year of technical support to assist in taking their projects to the next level.
The recipients were Accion Andina, a South American initiative to protect native forests in the Andes Mountains; Hong Kong-based GRST, which has developed a new way to build and recycle lithium batteries for electric cars; global non-profit WildAid Marine Program, for its efforts to combat illegal fishing; India’s S4S Technologies, whose solar-powered dryers and processing equipment help farmers preserve food; and US-headquartered Boomitra, for promoting land restoration on three continents with its soil carbon credits market.
Sea Forest, the Australian seaweed farming start-up that aims to play a major role in the reduction of methane emissions in cattle and other livestock, was one of the 15 finalists from more than 1100 nominations.
Sam Elsom, the founder of Sea Forest, is a former fashion designer.Credit: Adam Gibson