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Prince William has described himself as a ‘stubborn optimist’ and said ‘huge strides’ can be made in tackling the planet’s environmental crisis in a new podcast with actress Cate Blanchett.
The Duke of Cambridge, 39, was discussing The Earthshot Prize – the five £1million awards a year over the next decade to individuals, charities, companies and even countries spearheading practical ways to save the planet.
He said he wanted to focus on scaling up the inaugural winners and wanted more solutions to repair the planet led by women and indigenous communities from the 2022 nominees.
The royal said his appreciation of the natural world was ‘piqued’ by his father and grandfather’s ‘passion’ for it, and described boyhood memories of climbing trees, digging ditches and being out in the ‘wild and the wet’.
Prince WilliamHas described himself as an “stubborn optimist” who believes that there are ‘huge strides’ to be made in addressing the planet’s environment crisis in a podcast with actress Cate Blanchett. Left to right: Danny Kelly (left), Prince William (right), and Cate Blanchett (right).
The future king also stated that the process leading up to the award ceremony for his environmental Earthshot Prize was a ‘terrifying’ experience, but the event went without a hitch.
Blanchett, a member of Earthshot Prize Council or judging panels, and Danny Kennedy, climate entrepreneur, activist, and William chatted about the Climate of Change podcast on Audible. Blanchett also hosted the podcast.
When the Australian actress, 52, said he appeared ‘quite hopeful’ that we may be able to ‘work our way out of what seems to be a crisis’, the duke replied by quoting Christiana Figueres, chair of Earthshot’s board of trustees, saying he felt like a ‘stubborn optimist’.
He added, “She’s given my a lot of hope that it can happen and it’s something I believe in. And I’m seeing it all with my own eyes. It’s inspiring and it’s very hopeful. We can make great strides, I believe.
The Duke of Cambridge, 39, was discussing The Earthshot Prize – the five £1million awards a year over the next decade to individuals, charities, companies and even countries spearheading practical ways to save the planet. He was pictured with Kate Middleton at the ceremony last January
‘The Earthshot to my eyes is a team game. Cate and I both said it to the prize council members. To all of you, it’s everyone contributing and supporting what we’re trying. It’s all of us together.
“In the same collective spirit it would be great to tackle climate change and other environmental issues the same way.
“I believe it can be done in a much shorter time than we anticipated because the solutions exist. These problems can be solved.
The inaugural Earthshot Prize ceremony was held last October at Alexandra Palace in London. Emma Watson, Harry Potter star and actress, walked the event’s ‘green tarmac’ wearing a wedding gown made of 10 Oxfam dresses. Emma Thompson also walked.
The Duke visited the Bahamas last month and met the Coral Vita Project winners. This coral-growing project, which replants in oceans, gives new life to marine habitats that are dying, and the Coral Vita category winner of the revive our Oceans category.
The ceremony saw £1 million in prize money presented to each of the five category winners – protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world; and fix our climate – and organisers have said if their ideas are realised by 2030 it would improve life for all.
The nominations for the 2022 Earthshot Prize have opened. However, the duke stated that they are yet to choose the host city and that he wanted to see more nominees.
He said, “What I would love to personally see is more women-led and indigenous community-led solution.”
“But these next nine month, what we have to really focus on are the scaling of the 2021 winners, finalists, that is what’s really important for us – that is the game changing nature what the Earthshot Prize’s about.
The Duke of Edinburgh visited the Bahamas last month to visit the Coral Vita winners, who are coral growers on land that will be replanted in the oceans. This project gives new life to an already dying marine habitat.
When asked about his interest for the natural world, he replied that Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries had shown him that there was a broader world out there to explore when he grew up.
He said, “And I think my grandfather and my father, both having a deep passion in this area for many decades, has kind of piqued mine interest and my curiosity.”
“So growing up, I was surrounded with a sense of adventure and the desire to explore and be out in the gardens. I used to spend hours climbing trees and digging ditches. I also loved hiding in dens around the garden.
“So I used to love being outside in the kind of wild and wet.
Other names are joining the Climate of Change lineup of guests, including Adam McKay, an Oscarwinning filmmaker (Don’t Look Up); Imogen Heap who won the Grammy for electronic music, who composed its soundtrack; Dan O’Neill, a biologist and sound recordist, and Livia Firth founder of Green Carpet Challenge, a filmmaker and activist for environmental and social change. Cate and Danny are joined by all three in the final episode of ‘Culture of Change’. This episode focuses on film and the wider art to see how the industry can make a real difference through storytelling and beyond.
Cate Blanchett, co-hosts, and co-creators of Climate of Change said that “Climate innovations disrupt how the world works in incredible ways, but it is not yet speedy enough nor spread equally across the globe.
“We already have most of the technology that we need – such as solar and batteries – to keep the world under 1.5C, and to prevent the worst effects from climate change.
“What we need now is more climate innovators around world coming up quickly with solutions and sharing them at speed. This podcast will spotlight some of these innovative people.
