- Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Cate Blanchett, Christiana Figueres, Dani Alves, Sir David Attenborough, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Indra Nooyi, Jack Ma, Naoko Yamazaki, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Shakira and Yao Ming join Prince William as Members of the Earthshot Prize Council
- New short film sees members of The Earthshot Prize Council brought together for the first time as they speak to Prince William about their passion for the environment and the importance of The Earthshot Prize
A global team of high-profile leaders from the environmental, philanthropic, business, sporting and entertainment worlds have joined Prince William as members of The Earthshot Prize Council.
The Earthshot Prize, which launched today, is the most prestigious global environment prize in history and aims to incentivise change and help to repair our planet over the next 10 years. The £50 million prize will provide at least 50 solutions to the world’s greatest environmental problems by 2030. Taking inspiration from President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot which united millions of people around an organising goal to put man on the moon and catalysed the development of new technology in the 1960s, The Earthshot Prize is centred around five ‘Earthshots’ – simple but ambitious goals for our planet which if achieved by 2030 will improve life for us all, for generations to come.
The Earthshot Prize Council is a truly global list of influential individuals from a wide range of different sectors, all of whom are committed to championing positive action in the environmental space. Joining Prince William as members of The Earthshot Prize Council today are:
- Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah (Jordan);
- Cate Blanchett – actor, producer and humanitarian (Australia);
- Christiana Figueres – Former UN climate chief, responsible for the landmark Paris Agreement on Climate Change (Costa Rica);
- Dani Alves – professional footballer (Brazil);
- Sir David Attenborough – broadcaster and natural historian (UK);
- Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim – environmental activist (Chad);
- Indra Nooyi – business executive and former Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo (US & India);
- Jack Ma – philanthropist, entrepreneur and UNSDG Advocate (China);
- Naoko Yamazaki – former astronaut onboard the International Space Station (Japan);
- Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – economist and international development expert (Nigeria);
- Shakira – singer and philanthropist (Colombia);
- Yao Ming - Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and environmentalist (China).
In the coming months, further members of The Earthshot Prize Council will be announced as the global coalition supporting the Prize expands.
Every year from 2021 until 2030, The Earthshot Prize Council will award The Earthshot Prize to five winners, one per Earthshot, whose evidence-based solutions make the most progress towards the five Earthshots:
- Protect and restore nature
- Clean our air
- Revive our oceans
- Build a waste-free world
- Fix our climate
A distinguished panel of experts will support the judging process, making recommendations to the Prize Council who will select the final winners. The Prize could be awarded to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations – scientists, activists, economists, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities, and countries – anyone who is making a substantial development or outstanding contribution to solving these environmental challenges. Each winner will receive a one million-pound reward that will be used to support agreed environmental and conservation projects as well as largescale public recognition and significant support to scale their solution.
To mark the launch of the Prize, a short film has been released which sees Prince William and Sir David Attenborough together at Kensington Palace, speaking about their passion for the environment and the critical role that The Earthshot Prize can play in repairing our planet over the next ten years. The film also features each of the 11 other announced members of The Earthshot Prize Council, who explain their motivations for becoming involved in The Earthshot Prize and the differing environmental challenges faced globally. The film can be viewed at
www.earthshotprize.org.
Over the course of the next decade, The Earthshot Prize will find and highlight the most inspiring solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. But the Prize is about much more than awarding achievement – it is a decade of action to convene the environmental world with funders, businesses and individuals to maximise impact and take solutions to scale, to celebrate the people and places driving change; and to inspire people all over the world to work together to repair the planet.
Social media: @earthshotprize / @kensingtonroyal / #EarthshotPrize
For more information, visit:
www.earthshotprize.org
Notes to Editors
Quotes from members of The Earthshot Prize Council:
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah: “Seen from outer space, our planet is borderless; the same can be said for the greatest challenges we face today. For too long, we have neglected our shared world, and today we are reaping the shared consequences. None of us can opt out of the damaging ramifications of climate change, pollution, or resource depletion. And while the situation is urgent, it is not hopeless. When our backs are against the wall, humanity has a knack for coming together to find innovative solutions. We push back and power through. I am hopeful that platforms such as the Earthshot Prize will help us do just that.”
Cate Blanchett: "I feel extremely honoured to be a member of the Earthshot Prize Council, and humbled and invigorated to be amongst such extraordinary activists, experts and leaders in the environmental sector. All around the world, science and community-based initiatives are leading to ground-breaking inventions and solutions which, if provided with the platform and resources to be implemented on a larger scale, could have a significant and positive impact on the environment and global economy. The Earthshot Prize aims to do just that, and by providing this vital platform, we hope to refocus the narrative on climate change to one of hope and action."
Christiana Figueres: “Our responsibility is to leave our home better than we found it, so that future generations, no matter where they are born, or to whom, can thrive on the planet. The Earthshot Prize makes it clear that tackling climate change is not some far off challenge. It’s entirely possible right now – we have the tools, technologies and resources to achieve a stable climate on a regenerated planet. When the winners are announced, we will know that all of us are part of the progress, we can unite humanity around these common goals. Everyone will think the seemingly impossible is possible. The race is on and we are going to win it.”
Dani Alves: “It’s the most important power in the world – nature. If you give it good things then nature gives good things back to you. We’re going to make a good team.”
Sir David Attenborough: “I really do think things are about to start to move, and this sort of idea could be the spark that is really going to give it the lift and the impetus to develop into something huge. It’s a great source of hope, and I hope it spreads around the world.”
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim: “There are more than 500 million indigenous peoples around the world, living in the forests, savannahs, deserts, glaciers, mountains and islands. Our unique traditional knowledge can bring concrete solutions to restore our planet, if our peoples are recognised and our rights respected. We need action and we need it right now. We can’t wait any longer and when I saw the Prize, I’m like yes, that’s exactly the right thing we need to do.”
Indra Nooyi: “Careful stewardship of the earth is not at odds with progress. (In fact, it insures we will progress.) One day our grandkids will ask us, “Why didn’t you stop the destruction of this beautiful planet?” We have an intergenerational responsibility to step up now, before it is too late.”
Jack Ma: “We only have one Earth in this world and the pandemic has made it clear that mankind cannot live without the Earth, but that Earth can live without mankind. Today we all live in the same forest that is already on fire. If we work together, we can all do a little bit today, and overcome our challenges.”
Naoko Yamazaki: “It’s been more than half a century since human beings reached space and even the moon. However, the Earth is our only home planet. When I saw the International Space Station, I saw it as a symbol of international collaboration. If we all put our forces together for a common goal, we can make a great achievement.”
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: “I sense an impatience among our young people. They don’t want to see this disruption of the planet. They want and they are busy trying to find creativity and solutions to it, so that makes me optimistic. That idea of celebrating the creativity and rewarding them by supporting them with this prize is very exciting to me. I sense it’s going to be actually sensational.”
Shakira: “Your children, my children – they have to find ways to reduce carbon emissions, to repair our oceans, to clean the air. So we need young minds to be informed and invested, which is why education is so important. But we can’t just stand still. We have to lead the way and we have to do it now. I know it’s ambitious and I know there will be so many challenges along the way but I also know there will be so many who will rise to the occasion.”
Yao Ming: “We have to have the confidence to make this change. Regardless of the impact our actions have had upon the natural world, I believe that with enough desire and optimism, we can reverse this and repair our planet.”