Last night witnessed the inauguration of eco-conscious efforts by Prince William at Alexandra Palace.
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Along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, London saw the crème de la crème of the British entertainment industry, such as Emma Watson, David Oyelowo and Dame Emma Thompson, with musical performances from Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and KSI.
Here is a quick guide to know everything about the prestigious awards and why so many celebrities were involved.
What is Earthshot Awards 2021?
The Duke’s recent initiative involves the Earthshot Awards 2021. The green initiative has come ahead of the environmental summit of COP26, which is to be held at the end of this month. It will be a ten-year-long drive, wherein people around the world, with the finest environmental conservation plan, will be awarded.
The Duke of Cambridge said in a statement, after meeting students on 10 October:
We must inspire in the next generation the optimism, confidence and enthusiasm to chase those solutions.
Drawing inspiration from John F. Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot’ initiative that dealt with focusing on getting the next man on the moon within a decade. Similarly, the Prince sees the next ten years as crucial for conserving the environment. Each category in the awards will be funded £1 million by the Duke of Cambridge’s Royal Foundation.
Who won the Earthshot Prize 2021?
There are five different categories of awards and each abide by the United Nation’s sustainable development goals. The panel of judges involved, singer Shakira, actress Cate Blanchett and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
Each of the five categories was awarded separately.
1. Protect and Restore Nature
The first category winner was, Costa Rica for combating deforestation in the country. And their project focus involved, paying locals to help restore the natural ecosystems.
2. Clean our Air
This category was won from Takachar, India. Their project was a portable machine which turned agricultural waste into fertilisers, avoiding excess air pollution via burning waste.
3. Revive our Oceans
Two friends from Coral Vita, Bahamas won this category. They built special tanks which will help repopulate coral reefs, fifty times faster, across the globe.
4. Build a Waste-Free World
The prize for this category went to Milan for devising a scheme to control food waste and redirecting it towards the people in need.
5. Fix our Climate
An innovative AEM Electrolyser made by Italy, Germany and Thailand won this category. It is capable of producing renewable energy, by splitting water molecules to hydrogen and oxygen.
There is more!
Prince William also had a tie-up with Discovery Plus and released a five part docuseries, named The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet.
Each episode is based on the project sites, and it is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
