Prince William Posts Huge Announcement Alongside Video of Him Walking Alone in a Field
Story by Clara Stein
• 1h •
Prince William Posts Huge Announcement Alongside Video of Him Walking Alone in a Field
While the royal family shows their support for numerous charities, one cause in particular has Prince William‘s special attention: Climate change. For the past five years, he’s spearheaded The Earthshot Prize, awarding $1.3 million in funding to five winners. In a new Instagram post to the Prince and Princess of Wales’ account, the future monarch spills details on this year’s finalists and gives an update on the organization’s progress—and I can’t help but be inspired.
Instagram
A Peek Into The Earthshot Prize 2025
The video shows the Prince of Wales taking a solo stroll through a field, meandering under a majestic oak tree. In fact, this gentle giant holds much significance for the royal, who explains: “I sat under this oak tree five years ago, soon after we launched The Earthshot Prize. The planet, the only home we have, needed our help,” he recalls. “The scientists made it clear that we had to make significant changes by 2030. Back then, a decade felt a long time. George was 7, Charlotte 5 and Louis 2. The thought of them in 2030 felt a lifetime away.”
Prince William is then shown, dressed casually but sharply in a brown sweater, navy chinos, sneakers and a blue button down, sitting within the tree’s roots as he talks about The Earthshot Prize’s accomplishments and soft launches this year’s finalists.
“The Earthshot Prize was founded because this decade matters. 2030 is a threshold by which future generations will judge us,” he says. “It is the point at which our actions, or lack of them, will have shaped forever the trajectory of our planet. I am deeply proud of what The Earthshot Prize has done in its first five years, and I’m enormously excited for the next five.”
Big Goals and Big Progress
The future king expressed his excitement, not only for the 15 new finalists that would join the cohort, but for the 60 existing finalist from Prizes past. The goals are lofty, and include protecting 30 percent of the earth’s land and sea by 2030. Prince William reports encouraging progress—through the Prize, finalists have already protected and restored over one million square kilometers (386,000+ square miles) of land and ocean, and reduced, avoided or captured over 4.8 million tons of carbon dioxide.
“This year’s 15 finalists we’re about to reveal have solution to some of the most complex environmental challenges our planet faces,” Prince William continues. “They remind us that ingenuity and leadership know no borders, that bold ideas can come from anywhere and can spark change everywhere…For me, it is that urgent optimism that has been at the heart of this Prize from the beginning. And it feels unstoppable. The people behind these projects are heroes of our time, so let us back them. Because if we do, we an make the world cleaner, safer and full of opportunity. Not only for future generations, but for the lives we want to lead now.”
Pool/Pool/Getty Images
The Prince of Wales established The Earthshot Prize in 2020, and every year hosts the awards in a different country. The “Earthshots” are defined as “simple but ambitious and universal goals for 2030 that will drive significant progress towards repairing the planet.” Working with environmental experts, the Prize defines five challenges: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate. Finalists are diverse, ranging from cities like Bogotá and Guangzhou to NGOs and companies and even organizations like Lagos Fashion Week.
Last year’s Prize was hosted in Cape Town, South Africa, while 2023 took the finalists to Singapore. This year, the lucky host city is Rio de Janeiro.
“The journey to 2030 is still ours to define,” Prince William concludes in the video. “With the vision of these finalists and the support of all of us, a flourishing planet is already a reality.” |
