Prince William has praised environmental innovators as the “world’s true action heroes”, describing them as the role models we need “in these uncertain times” at his Earthshot awards in Rio.
Joined on stage by four young people from Brazil at his annual ceremony, William explained his motivation to set up the prize, saying of the finalists: “Their stories are the inspiration that gives us courage.”
“And there’s a great deal we can learn from their determination and their vision for scale,” he added.
“As well as their unyielding belief that we can create a better world. It’s no exaggeration to say that they are the world’s true action heroes.”
For the fifth year of his environmental prize, which sees five innovators or entrepreneurs awarded £1m each, he was joined by singers Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes performing at the ceremony.
Speaking to Sky News ahead of her performance, Kylie hailed the awards as an “incredible initiative”.
“I’m really excited to see everyone,” she told Sky News. “There’s amazing people doing incredible things, so it’s good to be here.”
The Prince of Wales with Kylie Minogue on the green carpet. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Kensington Palace / Andrew Parsons
‘When we unite, we are unstoppable’
While the awards have been his focus for the first three days of his trip to Brazil, he will travel to Belem tomorrow for COP30, the UN’s climate conference.
Acknowledging the sense of pessimism around the climate debate, exacerbated by recent global turbulence he said: “I understand some might feel discouraged in these uncertain times.
“I understand there is still so much to be done. But this is no time for complacency, and the optimism I felt in 2020 remains ardent today.”
In…
