AKDN launches Earthshot Prize in partnership with Prince William

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) today has announced partnership with Duke of Cambridge Prince William to offer The Earthshot Prize in the next 10 years.

The prize aims to find new solutions to environmental crises and the improvement of living standards, particularly for communities who are most at risk from climate change. The goal is to incentivise environmental change while helping repair the planet during the period, said a press release.

Taking inspiration from President John F Kennedy's Moonshot, which united millions of people around an organising goal to put man on the moon and catalysed the development of new technology in the 1960s, The Earthshot Prize is centred around five "Earthshots" – simple but ambitious goals for the planet which, if achieved by 2030, will improve the quality of life for all.

The five Earthshots unveiled are - protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world and fix our climate.

Announcing the partnership, Prince Rahim, eldest son of the Aga Khan and Chair of AKDN's Environment and Climate Committee, said the AKDN is proud to be a founding partner of the Earthshot Prize.

"It is our collective responsibility to be good stewards of the planet. At this critical moment, we must all nurture and invest in solutions that can repair our planet before it is too late," he added.

The prizes could be awarded to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations – scientists, activists, economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities, and countries – anyone whose workable solutions make a substantial contribution to achieving the Earthshots.

Every year from 2021 until 2030, Prince William, alongside The Earthshot Prize Council, which covers six continents, will award The Earthshot Prize to five winners, one per Earthshot. Sir David Attenborough became the first member of The Earthshot Prize Council last month and spoke with a global list of leaders from the environmental, philanthropic, business, sporting and entertainment worlds. 

In addition to the Prize Council and the Founding Partners, The Earthshot Prize will be supported by its Global Alliance, a network of organisations worldwide that share the ambition of the Prize to repair the planet.

Nominations will open on November 1 this year, with over 100 nominating partners from across the world being invited to submit nominations of those individuals, communities, businesses and organisations who could win The Earthshot Prize.

Nominators will include the Global Alliance but also academic and non-profit institutions from across the world who have been selected for their ability to identify the most impactful solutions to the Earthshots.

The 5-stage prize process to select a winner for each Earthshot has been designed in partnership with the Centre for Public Impact and a range of international experts.

Nominations will be screened as part of an independent assessment process run by Deloitte, our implementation partner. A distinguished panel of experts will support the judging process, making recommendations to the Prize Council who will select the final winners.

An awards ceremony will take place in different cities across the world each year between 2021 and 2030, at which the five winners for each of the Earthshots will be selected from 15 finalists. The first awards ceremony will take place in London in autumn 2021.

After the awards, each winner will receive a global platform and prestigious profile, with their stories being showcased over the decade and with the ambition that their solutions lead to mass adoption, replication and scaling. 

The £1 million in prize money will support environmental and conservation projects that are agreed with the winners. Shortlisted nominees will also be given tailored support and opportunities to help scale their work, including being connected with an ecosystem of likeminded individuals and organisations.