In 2020, inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s famous “Moonshot” challenge, Prince William launched The Earthshot Prize. This ambitious initiative aims to tackle some of Planet Earth's most pressing environmental issues through innovative solutions. Just as Kennedy’s call rallied the world to visit the moon, The Earthshot Prize wants to inspire a wave of optimism and action – which is so important for a sustainable, regenerative future. And now, it's coming to Cape Town to spotlight our very own brightest innovators in imagining a better future for our planet.
The Earthshot Prize is coming to Cape Town, Image Credit: The Earthshot Prize
What is the Earthshot Prize?
It's never been more important to take swift action. While there's definitely more awareness of climate issues, we can't yet see meaningful change.
However, The Earthshot Prize is based on what they call "urgent optimism", a belief that the innovative solutions needed to heal our planet are entirely possible but will need us to shift focus and take action quickly.
Their Five Goals for a Decade of Action
The Earthshot Prize is centred around five key "Earthshots" goals. Each targets a specific environmental focus area with a clear goal for 2030.
1. Protect and Restore Nature
This goal aims to see our natural planet expanding and not shrinking by protecting and preventing the extinction of forests, wetlands and other important high-biodiversity areas.
2. Clean Our Air
Everyone has a right to breathe clean air, and this goal focuses on ending the practice of burning waste and moving towards cleaner transport, as well as using technology and nature to eliminate pollutants from the atmosphere.
A clean ocean is vital for our future as a planet, Image Credit: Ocean Sailing Charters
3. Revive Our Oceans
Celebrating and protecting our oceans, this goal aims to restore coastal ecosystems, as well as replenish areas where overfishing has occurred while also limiting the use of fishmeal.
4. Build a Waste-Free World
Nothing should be wasted, and this goal aims to eliminate single-use plastics entirely and lessen food loss while promoting circular recycling systems.
5. Fix Our Climate
This goal is to get us to a carbon-neutral future by moving to using clean energy, reducing greenhouse gases beyond CO₂, and focusing on decarbonisation in areas where it's hard to move to sustainable energy.
The goal is to create a greener world for us all, Image Credit: Little Sable
What Do The Winners of The Earthshot Prize Get?
Each year until 2030, five winners – one for each Earthshot goal – are awarded £1 million (around R23,800,000) to help scale their solutions.
Over and above the financial support, each of the 15 finalists also receives ongoing, personalised guidance from a global network of partners, helping them grow their impact. By spotlighting these pioneers, The Earthshot Prize wants to spark a global shift towards taking positive action.
It's all about empowering average humans to drive extraordinary change.
Urgent optimism is the name of the game, The Earthshot Prize
Earthshot Week 2024 is Coming to Cape Town
This year's Earthshot Week takes place in our very own home city, Cape Town! It will feature a series of events around adopting environmental solutions.
The highlight of the week is The Earthshot Prize Awards on Wednesday, 6 November, celebrating this year's five winners. They will be sharing their visions through inspirational stories and performances.
Earthshot+
On 5 November, Cape Town also hosted Earthshot+, an event of thought-provoking discussions. Thanks to a collaboration with MultiChoice, African youth creators also used this platform to showcase local solutions – emphasising Africa's contributions to environmental progress.
Empowering African Innovation for Global Impact
Although our African continent unfortunately contributes the least to climate change, it also feels its effects most deeply. But there's also a high density of incredible talent and bright ideas here, and since The Earthshot Prize launched, it got more than 750 nominations from 38 African countries. This just shows how many brilliant minds want to participate in saving our planet. And it's with initiatives like The Earthshot Prize that future leaders are inspired to take action.
Empowering the young is also vital for this to work. This population is growing, and by investing in educating and funding the younger generation, we're also investing in a better future for our planet.
The Earthshot Prize hopes to empower African innovators, ensuring their solutions thrive on the world stage. With Earthshot Week shining a spotlight on Cape Town, it's time for the world to rally behind Africa's groundbreaking solutions and help unlock a future of global regeneration.
Tune in to Watch Change in Action
The 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards will be broadcast live across Africa on MultiChoice platforms, including DStv and Showmax, and streamed globally on our YouTube channel on 6 November.
Catch the Green Carpet live on YouTube from 17:30 CAT (15:30 GMT, 10:30 EST).
Watch the Awards show live on TV and YouTube from 19:30 CAT (17:30 GMT, 12:30 EST).
Join the Movement
The Earthshot Prize invites innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders everywhere to believe in a sustainable future and join this growing movement. Every action counts, every voice matters, and together we can create a world where both people and our planet thrive.
Are you ready to be part of the solution?
