The Earthshot Prize, a prestigious global environmental award dedicated to catalyzing change and rejuvenating the planet over the next decade, has chosen Singapore as the venue for its annual awards ceremony in November.
Established by Prince William of Britain in 2020, the Earthshot Prize will grant £1 million (S$1.7 million) to each of the five winners, enabling them to scale up their environmental innovation projects for the future.
Prince William expressed his excitement about the event, stating, "The Earthshot Prize aims to demonstrate that solutions to our most significant environmental challenges are within our reach. After two years of discovering impactful ideas and innovations, I am thrilled that the Earthshot Prize will be hosted in Singapore, where we will celebrate the groundbreaking solutions presented by our 2023 finalists."
The first prize ceremony took place in London, followed by one in Boston. This year, the awards ceremony will be accompanied by a series of events as part of the inaugural Earthshot Week. From November 6 onwards, global leaders, businesses, and investors will convene in Singapore to collaborate with prize winners and finalists, exploring initiatives focused on tangible action to heal the planet, as per the organizers.
In addition to the awards, the ceremony will feature performances by world-renowned musicians and artists, although the names have not been disclosed yet. Previous years' star-studded events witnessed captivating performances by artists such as Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and Shawn Mendes.
The Earthshot Prize receives support from various organizations, including philanthropic body Temasek Trust, investment firm Temasek, decarbonization investment platform GenZero, nonprofit environmental organization Conservation International, and Standard Chartered Bank.
Desmond Kuek, CEO of Temasek Trust, expressed hopes that the partnership with the Earthshot Prize "will drive action and work towards creating lasting positive change for generations to come." Dr. Steve Howard, Vice-Chairman of Sustainability at Temasek, emphasized the importance of collective efforts and stated, "Climate action necessitates sustained commitment from all stakeholders, making this a timely opportunity for the Temasek ecosystem to inspire action and foster innovation in the region."
In the previous year, the awarded projects included a team from Oman working on converting billions of carbon dioxide into rock to eliminate it and a Kenyan business that reduced air pollution by creating reliable stoves from waste metal.
The name "Earthshot" is inspired by the "Moonshot" program launched by former US President John F. Kennedy in the 1960s, which aimed to propel the world towards landing a man on the Moon. Similarly, the Earthshot Prize seeks to accelerate innovative solutions that will lead to a stable climate by 2030, where communities, oceans, and biodiversity can thrive in harmony.
According to the organizers, the solutions presented by the 2021 finalists have already directly benefited over 1.5 million people. Their initiatives have contributed to the protection or restoration of more than 7,000 hectares of land and nearly 2.1 million hectares of ocean, along with the reduction, avoidance, or sequestration of over 35,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
The finalists for this year's Earthshot Prize will be announced later in 2023.
Have a story? Send to us here sgtelltale@outlook.com
Comments