Prince William is visiting New York Tuesday during Climate Week, the climate summit that coincides with the United Nations General Assembly, to announce the finalists for the Earthshot Prize, his climate-focused charity.
During his first trip to New York City in nearly a decade, William made several stops, including a visit to a fire station near the World Trade Center, where he met with first responders to discuss the importance of mental health care. He also participated in the Billion Oyster Project, harvesting oysters with school kids in New York Harbor. In addition, William met with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday to discuss climate change ahead of the summit.
William mentioned that he went for a run in Central Park on the morning of the summit. “I decided to join the hordes of New Yorkers doing their morning routine,” he said.
The 2023 Earthshot Prize finalists consist of 15 different groups, including Coastal 500, WildAid Marine Programme, Circ Inc., Aquacycl, and Boomitra. These organizations are working on various initiatives related to ocean restoration, textile recycling, wastewater treatment, and carbon-credit marketplaces.
Peter Majeranowski, CEO of Circ Inc., expressed his excitement about representing the U.S.A. and shared his goal of addressing textile pollution: “Textiles are one of the biggest polluters on the planet, and less than 1% is currently recycled back into textiles.”
The Earthshot Prize categories are Protecting and Restoring Nature, Cleaning the Air, Reviving the Oceans, Building a Waste-Free World, and Fixing Our Climate. The winners will be announced next month in Singapore. The previous year’s ceremony was held in Boston.
The Earthshot Prize, launched by Prince William in 2020, aims to recognize and support individuals and organizations making significant contributions to environmental conservation. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s “Moonshot” pledge, William wanted to highlight the incredible work being done and promote widespread change.
“It came about from a desire to see more change and to highlight wonderful people doing incredible things,” he said. “So, I was thinking, ‘How do we elevate?’ How do we scale this up? How do we allow more people to see this?'”
William’s father, King Charles III, has also been a strong advocate for environmental issues. The Earthshot Prize Council will award a prize each year until 2030 in five categories: Protect and restore nature, Clean our air, Revive our oceans, Build a waste-free world, and Fix our climate. The winners will receive a reward of approximately $1.3 million to support their environmental projects.
“Ten years down the line, when we look back, I want to make sure we’ve found the right solutions, we’ve found the right people, but we’re also maximizing their impact,” William said.
— Charlie D’Agata contributed to this report.
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