- Prince William awards the first Earthshot Prize
- As a 10 year project to restore the health of the planet
- Global cooperation should develop visionary solutions
Last year, Prince William launched his Royal Foundation and Naturalist Sir David Attenborough the Earthshot Prize. As the most prestigious global environmental award in history, it is intended to clarify the urgent need for action to protect the planet and also to show evidence-based solutions.
The first Earthshot Prize was awarded in London last week. This year's winners include entire countries, cities and innovative companies. Stars such as Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes were music acts, and the jury included international environmental activists. The prize was awarded by Prince William personally and Kate Middleton set her own example for sustainable fashion, by wearing a ten-year-old dress by Alexander McQueen-Kleid again.
Earthshot Prize: A Decade of Commerce to Repair the Planet
The Earthshot Prize is much more than an one-off award for effort or achievement. It is a 10-year commitment to active commitment to the environmental protection. In the next 1 years, the prize is intended to bring together companies, individuals and donors from all over the world in order to maximize positive effects on environmental protection and to realize solutions on a large scale. Core of the vision: Restoring the health of the planet through the power of collaboration and diversity.
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It serves as an incentive to recognize the urgent need for action, to drive change now and to mobilize people for precisely this organizational goal. Exchange and mutual inspiration are therefore important - this is the only way to identify and master challenges at all levels. From environmental changes to improving the standard of living, especially in the communities affected by climate change.
The "5 Earthshots" for a healthy planet
Inspired by John F. Kennedy's "Moonshot," which in the 1960s brought together millions of people for the development of new technologies , to encourage the observation of the moon, the Earthshot Prize now revolves around five "Earthshots". These are goals whose implementation should improve the quality of life of all generations by 2030. And although they are formulated simply, the mission they pursue is all the more ambitious:
- Protect and restore nature
- Purify our air
- Revitalizing our oceans
- Build a waste-free world
- Improve our climate
Based on the shots, five prizes, each endowed with one million British Pounds, will be awarded each year for the next 10 years. By 2030 there will be 50 projects funding solutions to the world's biggest environmental problems with a total of 50 million British Pound. Practically everyone with the aim of making a significant contribution to the realization of the Earthshots, has a chance to win the price - whether an individual, a team or a cooperation; whether scientists, activists, governments, banks, companies or countries.
Optimistic start to the Earthshot Prize
On Sunday, October 17.10.2021th, XNUMX, the first Earthshot Prize was awarded in London by Prince William. He emphasized in advance that the earth was at a turning point that would make society face a difficult decision: "Either we carry on as before and damage our planet irretrievably, or we remember our unique strength as people and in our constant ability to lead, innovate and solve problems. "
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Instead of black paintwork and pessimism - which so often shape the discourse - he relies on optimism: "People can achieve great things. The next ten years will face one of our greatest tests - a decade of action to repair the earth." This appeal of hope is particularly important for younger generations, whose ambition is now to be awakened. It is about releasing innovations and proactively helping to determine the future.
Visionaries: The winners of the 1st Earthshot Prize
After nominees have been searched for around the globe, the winners will be selected by the Earthshot Prize Council. An international award council made up of influential personalities from a wide variety of areas, all of whom are committed to positive measures in the environmental sector. Among them: Shakira, Luisa Neubauer, Cate Blanchett and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Source & Copyright by The Earthshot Prize
Protect and restore nature
In the category "Protect and restore nature", a whole country has been awarded the price: Costa Rica. After the forests of Costa Rica were decimated by almost half in the 1990s, the government launched a program that paid citizens to maintain the forest and to replant trees. The result: The forest area has doubled, flora and fauna flourished and the resulting boom of ecotourismhas boosted the economy.
Purify our air
As a solution to this earthshot, social enterprise Takachar has developed a technology that transforms crop residues in organic products like fuel or fertilizer . This prevents them from being burned and smoke emissions in New Delhi can be reduced by 98%. That means a significant improvement in the air quality and thus also life expectancy.
Revitalizing our oceans
Coral Vita mission is to protect coral reefs . To do this, the company breeds coral reefs on land, as they grow 50 times faster than in nature. When fully grown they are transplanted to the oceans, so that new life is breathed into dying ecosystems. With this method, farms are to be expanded, since one farm can supply an entire country with coral reefs and thus revitalize its ecosystems.
Build a waste-free world
zero waste idol: Milan. Milan is the first major city to implement a city-wide food waste policy. There are so-called food hubs that collect food from supermarkets and canteens in order to then pass it on to NGOs for citizens in need. And with success: the hubs save 130 tons of food every year, which corresponds to around 260.000 meals.
Improve our climate
Green hydrogen as a key solution to reduce global warming. With the winner of the fifth Earthshot, the AEM electrolyser from Enapter, fossil fuels can be replaced by green hydrogen. With the prize now the new technology can be scaled up for mass production and change the way our world is powered.
What's next?
Until 2030, a different city will host the Earthshot Prize every year and award five winners who promise the greatest advances in the five pillars of the award. This underlines the global relevance of the project and also fuels ambition to make a contribution. Not least because a number of celebrities - from Coldplay to Ed Sheeran to Shawn Mendes - give the award an incomparable reach and attract attention.
The sustained support of the winners is particularly important, as the aim is to bring forward sustainable change. The award opens up the possibility of mobilizing like-minded people and organizations and implement visions on a large scale. And thus gives hope that our planet will actually achieve a better condition in 10 years. Together and ambitious.
