The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have launched a competition to help combat climate change.

The Earthshot Prize will run until 2030 and echoes the famous ‘Moonshot’ ambition that President Kennedy outlined to place a man on the moon by the end of the decade (in that case 1969). The prize, that comes with a monetary award, is for both individuals and organisations who can create solutions to environmental problems.

Over the decade, five solutions per year will be supported, each chosen to be “rooted in science” and show “new ways of thinking”. Again, as Apollo programme of the Space Race create new technology such as the MRI scanner and satellite dishes, this competition hopes to have the ambition and innovation to help save the planet.

The prizes will reward progress across all sectors of industry and society, and that official website was at pains to point out it will not just reward technology. Scientists, activists, economists, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities, and countries are all eligible, as are collaborations.

As 2020 heralds the Convention on Biodiversity in China and the COP26 Climate Change Conference in the UK, the programme hopes to help create a year in which real changes can be made.

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