Prince William is optimistic that “huge strides” can be taken to combat global warming.
Prince William is optimistic that huge strides can be taken to combat climate change
The Duke of Cambridge - who spent his early childhood years being out in the wild digging ditches and climbing trees – said he developed a real appreciation for the natural world thanks to his father Prince Charles and his late grandfather Prince Philip's passion for the outdoors.
Speaking on the ‘Climate of Change’ podcast ahead of Earth Day (22.04.22), he told actress and host Cate Blanchett and activist Danny Kennedy that he was “really optimistic” about the planet's future.
He said: “The more we speak about [climate change] I do feel the more change will happen."
William - who graduated from Eton College in 2000 when he was 18 - credited his childhood for sparking his interest but said that it wasn’t until his gap year trip to Kenya that his passion was ignited.
The 39-year-old royal also spoke of the 2022 Earthshot Prize, which he launched last year, to honour those who had gone above and beyond to promote impactful approaches to the world's most pressing environmental challenges.
The prince told Cate - who is a member of the Earthshot Prize council - and Danny that he would love to see more "female-led solutions".
He added: “What I’d love to see, personally, is more women-led solutions and more indigenous community-led solutions,
“I have lot of hope that this can happen and I believe it, and I'm seeing it with my own eyes. It's really inspiring, it's really hopeful. And I do believe we can make huge strides.
“Earthshot to me is a team game of same collective spirits, everyone doing their bit and helping.”
In 2021, there were five prize winners who were awarded £1 million each, and those recipients – as well as 10 other finalists – will continue to receive mentoring throughout 2022 to help scale up their projects confronting press issues including climate change, plastic pollution and the degradation of the oceans.
William said of the prize winners: "Seeing the incredible solutions that have been developed by the first winners of the Prize - and all of our finalists - shows us that the answers are out there.
“By recognising these efforts and supporting and scaling them to be the best they can be, we can inspire the confidence that a healthier, more sustainable future is within our grasp."
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