Green boost as William hands out five £1m Earthshot awards

Prince William’s annual Earthshot awards ceremony last week was another big success and encouragement in the battle to slow down climate change, said a Midlands energy expert.

Ron Fox was commenting on the ceremony held in Singapore last Tuesday hosted by the Prince of Wales and a number of celebrities.

“I was so pleased to hear the Royal VIP say that there is still hope for the planet and that future generation will look upon this decade as when people took collective action to save our earth,” said Ron, of Noreus Ltd, which is based at Keele University’s Science and Innovation Park.

“But the Prince warned that the last year has been one of great change and even greater challenge because the effects of the climate crisis have become too visible to be ignored.”

The five winners, who were selected by the Prince of Wales and the prestigious Earthshot Prize Council, and who all received £1 million each were:

Protect and Restore Nature: Acción Andina is a grassroots, community-based initiative working across South America to protect native high Andean forest ecosystems for their invaluable benefits to nature and millions of people in the region.

Clean our Air: With the market for electric vehicles booming, GRST, of Hong Kong, China, has developed a cleaner, safer and cheaper way to make and recycle lithium-ion batteries. This enables the metals to be more economically recovered and reused. The method reduces greenhouse gas emissions from production by 40 per cent and results in a battery lasting up to 10 per cent longer than average.

Revive our Oceans: WildAid is a global non-profit organisation helping to bolster the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas by ending illegal fishing, strengthening ocean conservation, allowing wildlife to recover and improving the livelihoods of people along the coasts.

Build a Waste-free World: Founded in 2013 by six university friends, S54 Technologies, India, helps rural communities combat food waste, poverty, and inequality. Its solar-powered dryers and equipment help farmers to preserve crops and to turn produce that might otherwise go to waste into valuable products.

Fix our Climate: Boomitra, a global company with work in South America, Asia and Africa, is showing farmers how to improve their soil by using satellites and AI technology and to help them to cut carbon emissions as well as boosting farmers’ profits.

The annual Earthshot Prize, which began in December 2020, has a global panel of 59 scientific, academic and subject matter experts who chose this year’s 15 finalists from more than 1,100 nominations from all over the world.

All the finalists will receive mentorship, resources and technical support from The Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme to help accelerate the growth of their ground-breaking solutions.

The event was hosted by Hannah Waddingham, the Emmy Award winning actress and Sterling K Brown the three-time Emmy Award winning actor and producer.

For more advice on innovative green ideas contact Ron Fox on 01782 756995.