Earthshot prize: Prince of Wales announces winners

Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales attend the Earthshot Prize 2022 at MGM Music Hall at Fenway on December 02, 2022 in Boston, MassachusettsImage source, Getty Images
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William and Catherine handed out awards to the five winners during a ceremony in Boston

The winners of the second ever Earthshot prize have been announced!

They include childhood friends who turn CO2 into rock, a pair in the UK who have made plastic out of seaweed, and a company that makes stoves that use more environmentally-friendly fuel to burn.

The annual awards were created by Prince William last year to celebrate people inventing solutions to the ever-growing problem of climate change.

Image source, PA Media
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UK winners Pierre Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez of Notpla, which makes packaging from seaweed and plants as an alternative to single-use plastic

The Prince of Wales was at the ceremony in Boston in the US with his wife Catherine to present the winners with their prizes.

"I believe that the Earthshot solutions you have seen this evening prove we can overcome our planet's greatest challenges," Prince William said during the ceremony.

"By supporting and scaling them we can change our future," he said.

Did you know?
  • The prize's name is a reference to 'Moonshot', the plan made in the 1960s by the then-president John F. Kennedy to get man to the moon by the end of the decade

Each of the five winners of the 2022 Earthshot prize will receive £1 million to carry on developing their inventions.

This year's winners were chosen from a list of 15 finalists. The decision was made by a panel that includes Prince William, Sir David Attenborough, actress Cate Blanchett, footballer Dani Alves, Fijian activist Ernest Gibson and singer Shakira.

Image source, Getty Images
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RnB duo Chloe x Halle were spotted on the green carpet

And the event itself was incredibly star-studded - Sir David Attenborough opened the ceremony, Billie Eilish performed, and Annie Lennox, Ellie Goulding, Chloe x Halle and David Beckham also made appearances.

The Earthshot ceremony is part of the Prince and Princess of Wales' American tour, which has been overshadowed by recent accusations of racism in the Royal Household.

What is the Earthshot prize?

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Prince William: What is the Earthshot Prize?

Who were this year's winners?

Clean Our Air

Image source, Ronald Grant
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Charlot Magayi is one of the five Earthshot Prize winners with her stoves fired by cleaner fuels

Mukuru Clean Stoves, Kenya: Kenya's Mukuru Clean Stoves produce stoves that are fired using a combination of charcoal, wood and sugarcane. This replaces the solid fuels that most stoves use, which can lead to air pollution and accidents that claim four million lives each year, the Earthshot Prize said.

Protect and Restore Nature

Kheyti, India: In India, Kaushik Kappagantulu's Greenhouse-in-a-Box helps farmers protect their crops from extreme weather and pests, in a country that has been severely impacted by climate change.

Build a Waste-free World

Notpla, United Kingdom: Pierre Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez have been able to create natural, bio-degradable plastic made out of seaweed. The company made more than one million takeaway food boxes for the food delivery platform Just Eat this year.

Revive Our Oceans

Australia: The Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia were chosen for a programme that has trained over 60 women to protect the ocean using both traditional and digital methods.

Fix Our Climate

Image source, Earthshot Prize 2022
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Talal Hasan is the founder of 44.01, a project that promises to turn carbon dioxide into rock

44.01, Oman: This project promises to turn carbon dioxide into peridotite, a rock that is really common in Oman and globally, including the US, Europe and Asia. It's a cheap and safe alternative to other methods of storing carbon, such as burying it underground.