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LONDON (AP) — Celebrities will join Prince William in London on Sunday for the inaugural awards ceremony of the Earthshot Prize, an ambitious environmental program aimed at finding new ideas and technologies around the world to tackle climate change and the world’s most pressing problems.
Jury members, including naturalist and veteran broadcaster David Attenborough, actor Cate Blanchett and singer Shakira, are expected to attend the ceremony. Actors Emma Thompson, Emma Watson and David Oyelowo will join Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, in the distribution of the awards.
William and his charity The Royal Foundation launched the Earthshot Award last year, inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 “Moonshot” speech that compelled and inspired Americans to go to the moon.
The award, which will be awarded to five winners each year until 2030, is considered the most prestigious award of its kind. Each winner will receive a £1 million ($1.4 million) grant to develop and grow their ideas.
“We are living in the most important period in human history,” William said in a pre-recorded short film. “The actions we choose or choose not to take in the next 10 years will determine the fate of the planet for the next millennium.”
“Most of the answers are already there,” he added. But we need everyone from all walks of society. unite to elevate their ambitions and repair our planet.”
Among the finalists is a 14-year-old student in India who has proposed using solar power instead of coal to power millions of roadside ironing cars; an onshore coral farm to restore dying coral reefs in the Bahamas; a community project dedicated to protecting gorillas in Congo; and a Kenyan business that turns organic waste into fertilizer and insect protein for farmers.
The ceremony took place days before the COP26 UN climate change summit, which begins in Glasgow on 31 October.
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