Prince William named on TIME100 Climate list for pioneering Earthshot Prize work

Prince William named on TIME100 Climate list for pioneering Earthshot Prize work The Prince of Wales founded the annual awards ceremony in 2020, as he aimed to highlight environmental innovation that is leading the fight against climate change Prince William has been named on the TIME100 Climate list for his tireless work with the Earthshot Prize. For the fourth year in a row, TIME has listed the 100 people - from business founders to celebrities - who are driving meaningful action on climate change. The Prince of Wales appeared on the list alongside environmental academics, entrepreneurs, politicians and celebrities including actor Benedict Cumberbatch, musician Brian Eno, and Sesame Street character Elmo. William launched the prize in 2020, inspired by the U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 “Moonshot” speech that challenged Americans to go to the moon by the end of that decade. The future King’s goal is to accelerate the pace of environmental innovation to combat problems such as climate change, ocean plastic pollution and loss of wildlife habitat by 2030. Speaking about this year’s list, TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs said: “To assemble this group, our editors and correspondents reviewed hundreds of names, with a particular focus on those who achieved measurable and sustainable action over the past 12 months. “These innovators join a host of groundbreaking thinkers, investors, and pioneers who continue to write new playbooks for climate action, reminding us the world is full of leaders keeping their eyes on the future.” According to TIME’s profile on William, the Earthshot Prize’s impact report this year shows that, collectively, its finalists have helped avoid or capture more than 18 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, which is equal to the annual emissions of four million cars. Additionally, some 143 million acres of land, forests and freshwater systems have been protected or restored, and air quality has been improved for 600 million people around the world due to Earthshot initiatives. In a matter of weeks, William will be heading to Mumbai, India for this year’s Earthshot Prize, where five winners will be awarded £1 million to further bring their ideas to light to fight climate change. Awards are presented in five categories, or Earthshots – Protect and restore nature; Clean our air; Revive our oceans; Build a waste-free world; and Fix our climate - with winners taking home £1 million in prizes to fund their initiatives. Mumbai was announced as the 2026 host city back in February during the city’s inaugural Climate Action Week, as William described the country of India as one of the most “important forces for climate and nature”. The Prince of Wales said in a video: “India is one of the world ’s most important forces for climate and nature. What succeeds in India at scale has the power to inspire progress everywhere. “With the largest population of young people in the world, there is a real sense of momentum – to not only imagine a better future, but to inspire change and make it a reality. Together we can rise to meet our greatest challenge, to repair and restore our planet by 2030.” William’s Earthshot project is over halfway through its decade-long cycle to recognise and reward ideas to help save the planet, with the annual awards already being staged in London, Singapore, Cape Town, Boston and Rio de Janeiro.