The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, in October 2020 had announced a £50 million prize, titled as the “Earthshot” prize for protection and restoration of the Earth’s environment. The objective and the title name for “Earthshot” is inspired from the “Moonshot” programme which was organised by former US President, John F. Kennedy, in the 1960s.
The aim of the ‘Earthshot’ prize is to propose and work on solutions in order to restore our natural environment. There are five different categories or “Earthshots” under this initiative, based on which the prizes will be distributed. The categories are: ‘Protect and Restore Nature’, ‘Clean Our Air’, ‘Revive Our Oceans’, ‘Fix Our Climate’, ‘Build a Waste-free World’. Five prizes, worth £1 million each, will be awarded for each category annually for the next 10 years, up to 2030. The prize money awarded to the winners is to support the environmental and conservation projects that they are working on.
The winners for each of these prizes will be selected by the Earthshot Prize Council which comprises of a group of influential personalities belonging to various sectors focussing on improving our environmental space.
Nominees shortlisted by the experts’ panel will also receive support and opportunities to help and continue their work towards the betterment of the ecosystem.
Categories
Protect and Restore Nature: In this category, conservationists who put a stop to poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking, land owners who create job opportunities for people who look after natural land, the entrepreneurs who help planting billions of trees, will be awarded.
Clean Our Air: Here, the innovators who create job opportunities in green transport and clean energy, the businesses who remove more pollution from the air than they put into it, and the communities that work towards implementing eco-friendly methods of living for the citizens without causing air pollution, will receive this prize.
Revive Our Oceans: In this, the innovators who implement methods to increase the population of underwater life, the leaders who abolish illegal and unsustainable fishing activities, and the technologists who exhibit methods to cleanse the ocean water on a large scale, will be awarded.
Fix Our Climate: Here, the cities or countries who achieve zero-emission rates, the leaders who create a large number of job opportunities in a carbon-free region, technologists who make genuine efforts to reduce the carbon content from our atmosphere on a large scale, will receive this award.
Build a Waste-free World: Under this category, organisations that avoid manufacturing of single-use products and packaging, cities that revolutionise their waste management systems, innovators who implement new methods to garbage instead of dumping them, are eligible for the prize.
The Earthshot Prize initiative is supported by its Global Alliance, which is a vast network of organisations, spread across the world sharing a common goal to restore our planet back to its natural state over the next ten years.
Sources: indian express