Stage set for second edition of Sh7billion ‘Earthshot’ Awards
Edible bubbles called "Ooho" are seen at the end of the production line at Notpla in Hackney, east London, on November 24, 2022. A British start-up founded by two ex-students from France and Spain, crafting biodegradable packaging from marine plants, is aiming to seal royal approval this week when Prince William unveils his latest Earthshot prizes.
The stage is set for the second edition of the Earthshot where a lucrative prize money of Sh7 billion is up for grabs for over 10 years.
The award set for Friday in Boston, is billed as “the most prestigious global environment prize in history”, and is aimed at attempting to find solutions to protect and restore the environment.
The awards are coming days after the conclusion of the COP27 on November 20 held in the Egyptian Resort City of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The eagerly awaited ceremony will see five solutions to the world’s environmental problems feted with each winner walking home with Sh147.4 million (1 million pounds).
Last year’s winners included a green hydrogen technology that can be used as a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels.
An India-based outfit that makes low-cost smokeless machines that convert agricultural waste into fuels and fertilizers and a team from the Bahamas that grows coral farms on land that can be replanted in oceans were some of the winners.
The Republic of Costa Rica also won for reversing deforestation by paying its citizens to protect its forests, and the city of Milan in Italy won for its system of food hubs that collect and redistribute surplus supplies to the city’s needy.
The Earthshot Prize, the global environmental prize was founded by Prince William in 2020.
Each year, it gives five awards to reward solutions to five “Earthshot” goals – Protect and Restore Nature; Clean Our Air; Revive Our Oceans; Build A Waste-Free World, and Fix Our Climate.
Award-winning broadcaster, podcaster and television presenter Clara Amfo will co-host the awards for the second year running alongside actor, producer and director Daniel Dae Kim.
“What an honour to return for a second time to host The Earthshot Prize awards, this time from America! I was so inspired by last year's Winners, and I’m looking forward to celebrating and sharing the incredible work of the 2022 Finalists with the world,” said Amfo.
The five winners of The Earthshot Prize will be announced by a line-up of presenters including The Princess of Wales, Academy Award-Winning actor Rami Malek, actor, screenwriter and comedian Catherine O’Hara and actor and advocate Shailene Woodley.
The prize funding will help award winners in a bid to support and scale their innovations, with the potential to repair our planet.
The ceremony will also feature natural historian and Member of The Earthshot Prize Council, Sir David Attenborough.
The Prince of Wales will deliver remarks at the end of the ceremony.
This year’s awards will feature performances from Singer-Songwriter and activist Annie Lennox and Grammy award-winning Singer-Songwriter Billie Eilish accompanied by her brother and creative partner, FINNEAS.
Other performers include R&B duo Chloe x Halle and platinum selling artist and activist Ellie Goulding.
The awards are run by the Earthshot Prize Council supported by Global Alliance, a network of organisations from across the world that share the Prince William’s ambitious plan.
The Aga Khan Development Network leads the list of the Global Alliance founding partners, a group of the world’s leading philanthropists and organisations who will work with us to deliver the ambition, scale and reach of the Prize through both funding and shared partnership objectives.
The other organisations are Bezos Earth Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Breakthrough Energy Foundation, Coleman Family Ventures, DP World in partnership with Dubai EXPO 2020, Eleven Eleven Foundation, Holch Povlsen Foundation, Jack Ma Foundation, Legado Para A Juventude, Marc and Lynne Benioff, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and Rob & Melani Walton Foundation.
“The plan is to really galvanise and bring together the best minds, the best possible solutions, to fixing and tackling some of the world’s greatest environmental challenges,” said Prince William during the launch of the awards in 2020.
