For the first time, five groups won for their efforts to make the UN Sustainable goals a reality. Here’s all you need to know about the Earthshot prize.
What is the Earthshot Prize?
The Earthshot prize or ‘Eco Oscars‘ od an award set up by Prince William and the Royal Foundation to honor five finalists for generating solutions against the global climate crisis. The Royal Foundation, founded by the famed naturalist and historian David Attenborough in addition to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The awards, established in 2020. However, this year is the first time that awards were given to the finalists. Selected based on their contribution towards five of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. They are restoration and protection of nature, ocean revival, air cleanliness, climate action, and waste-free living.
The awards are inspired by former US president J F Kennedy’s famous Moonshot where he set a goal for reaching the Moon within a decade. However here, five organizations or individuals are awarded for impactful solutions one million euros. One winner is selected from each category. The council chooses winners from a total of 15 finalists.
Earthshot Prize: Here are the winners
This year’s winners were The Republic of Costa Rica under the ‘Protect and Restore Nature’ category. The country which once cleared most of its forests has now doubled the number of trees and set an example. india’s Takachar won the prize under the ‘Clean our Air’ category. Moreover, the inauguration edition of the awards is extra special to India. Vidyut Mohan’s tech for recycling agricultural waste for fuel generation was one of the esteemed winners.
A project from the Bahamas called Coral Vita, run by two best friends won under the ‘Revive out Oceans’ group. They designed a method to restore the dying coral reefs. The Food Waste Hubs from Milan, Italy won in the ‘Build a Waste-Free World’ group for challenging the problem of food wastes. A clever idea won AEM Electrolyser for ‘Fixing the Climate’. The group managed to make more hydrogen by splitting hydrogen and oxygen from water.
More about the Eco Oscars
The ceremony at Alexandra Palace saw the attendance of Prince William, Dame Emma Thompson, Emma Watson, and David Oyelowo. The celebrities walked the green carpet to highlight that ‘environmental challenges require the same kind of attention as the Oscars’. Additionally, guests were environmentally conscious while choosing their outfits.
So, Emma Watson wore an Oxfam dress upcycled from 10 other dresses. Additionally, none of the celebrities flew to London for attending the ceremony. And nor did the ceremony use plastic to build the stages. (thewodlife.com.au)