With its first winners awarded one million this year in 2021, the Earthshot Prize has become a hot topic gaining much popularity through surfs on the internet and the rattling of the envious public. Who doesn’t want to become a famous superhero and a millionaire at the same time? It’s the best of both worlds!
What is the Earthshot Prize?
The Earthshot Prize is a new global prize for the environment, designed to incentivise change and help to repair our planet over the next ten years.
Established in 2020 is an award set up by Prince William and the Royal Foundation, the charity founded by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and historian David Attenborough to honour five finalists between 2021 and 2030 for developing solutions to fight the climate crisis.
The SDGs It Outlines
2021 was the first year when awards were handed out to finalists for their contributions towards the five UN Sustainable Development Goals- restoration and protection of nature, air cleanliness, ocean revival, waste-free living and climate action.
How Does It Work?
Five individuals or organizations that have come up with impactful solutions to problems plaguing the planet will be awarded one million euros.
Each year, five winners will be selected, one for each of the UN SDG goal categories, with a total of 50 million euros being awarded by 2030.
The winners will be chosen from fifteen finalists, three for each category, by the Earthshot Prize council. The council comprises global spokesmen who are striving to bring impactful action in various capabilities.
The First Winners:
The first winners of the Earthshot prize were announced this year, 2021 and were each awarded one million euros.
1. Protect and Restore Nature
The Republic of Costa Rica: Costa Rica was a country that once cleared most of its forests, but it has now doubled the number of trees and is seen as a role model for others to follow. The winning project is a scheme paying local citizens to restore natural ecosystems that have led to a revival of the rainforest.
2. Clean our Air
Takachar, India: New Delhi-based 17-year-old entrepreneur Vidyut Mohan is among the five global winners for the inaugural ‘Earthshot Prize’. A portable machine was created to turn agricultural waste into fertiliser so that farmers do not burn their fields and cause air pollution.
3. Revive our Oceans
Coral Vita, Bahamas: A project run by two best friends who are growing coral in the Bahamas, designed to restore the world’s dying coral reefs. Using special tanks, they have developed a way to grow coral up to 50 times faster than they normally take in nature.
4. Build a Waste-Free World
The City of Milan Food Waste Hubs, Italy: Another challenge is waste – and the city of Milan in Italy wins a prize for collecting unused food and giving it to people who need it most. The initiative has dramatically cut waste while tackling hunger
5. Fix our Climate
AEM Electrolyser, Thailand/Germany/Italy: A clever design in Thailand using renewable energy to make hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is a clean gas but is usually produced by burning fossil fuels.
A Great Step Towards Improvement
The Earthshot prize is a great way to encourage and inspirit people to contribute themselves to discovering and innovating different ways and strategies to make the planet we live in more sustainable, and conserve and restore its precious life and nature it holds within.
Who wouldn’t want to save the Earth for a million dollars? Although it sounds worse than it really is, this is a great way to enliven people to incorporate themselves in this mission even though the money is originally awarded for the purpose of continuing the winners’ environmental work.
The Earthshot is a great example to people as the event was held in a completely sustainable manner.
Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and KSI were among the acts that performed and in keeping with the eco message, the music was powered by 60 cyclists pedalling on bikes. How cool!
No celebrities flew to London for the ceremony, no plastic was used to build the stage and guests were asked to “consider the environment” when choosing an outfit, with Emma Watson wearing a dress made from 10 different dresses from Oxfam.
Year 9 – Naimah Fatimah Ahmed