Revealed: List of winners awarded £1million by Duke of Cambridge for Earthshot Prize 2021

18 October 2021, 10:39

The first five winners of the Duke of Cambridge’s Earthshot prize have been revealed at a prestigious event in London.

The awards inspired by the Apollo moon landings, marked the end of a 10-month global search which saw over 750  nominations worldwide.

The winners of the “one-of-a-kind” prize each received one million pounds to help fund their "ground-breaking solutions" to the urgent environmental challenges facing our planet.

Alongside the prize money, winners were also presented with a prize medal, designed by award-winning Dutch artist Christien Meindertsma, inspired by the famous ‘Earthrise’ photo.

Stars spotted at the green carpet event included Dame Emma Thompson, David Oyelowo and Harry Potter star Emma Watson who wore a wedding dress made of 10 dresses from Oxfam, after organisers asked guests to “consider the environment when choosing their outfit”.

During the event the Duke of Cambridge asked the public not to “give up hope” pledging “we are going to find the solutions to repair our planet".

Adding:"A decade doesn't seem long enough, but humankind has an outstanding record of being able to solve the unsolvable."

Whilst the Duchess of Cambridge said: “Nature is vital to us all.“A thriving natural world, regulates our planet, nurtures our physical and mental health and helps feed our families.

“But for too long, we’ve neglected our wild spaces and now we’re facing a number of tipping points.“If we don’t act now, we will permanently destabilise our planet and we will rob our children of the future they deserve.”

The winners included Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix our Climate.

Protect and Restore Nature has doubled the number of trees in the Republic of Costa Rica by paying local citizens to restore the rainforest, whilst Clean our Air created a portable machines to turn agricultural waste into fertiliser to reduce air pollution in India.

Two best friends who run Revive our Oceans, were awarded the prize after growing coral in the Bahamas using special tanks which grow coral up to 50 times faster than normal.

Over in Milan, Build a Waste-Free World were recognised for cutting waste by collecting unused food and giving it to those in need, and Fix our Climate, won after designing renewable energy by splitting water into Hydrogen and Oxygen

The Earthshot awards will be held every year over the next decade, with next event set to be held in the United States of America. Nominations for the 2022 prize will open in January.