William honours young environmentalists at Earthshot Prize

The Prince of Wales hailed the next generation of environmentalists, saying the “future belongs to them” as his Earthshot Prize celebrated solutions to repair the planet.

William shared the stage with four Brazilian youngsters who each made a declaration for a world they wanted to see – from one where “we can all breathe clean air” to a future where “rivers run clear, and wildlife thrives”.

Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise, who described William as his “dear friend”, congratulated the winners and finalists, thanking them for “reminding us what’s possible when commitment meets purpose” in a video message.

Pop princess Kylie Minogue was one of a host of stars alongside Canadian musician Shawn Mendes and Brazilian legend Gilberto Gil, who performed at the awards ceremony.

Kylie praised the finalists, describing them as “amazing people doing incredible things”.

The annual event, now in its fifth year and staged in Rio de Janeiro, aims to recognise and scale up solutions to “repair” the planet, and five winners were awarded £1 million each to develop their ideas.

William told guests, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer: “Since we launched The Earshot Prize, so much has been achieved. Your impact can be measured in our oceans, our skies, and throughout the natural world.

“I understand that some might feel discouraged in these uncertain times. I understand that 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.

“Because our finalists are a shining example of how we can build stronger economies, design healthier cities, and create better jobs for the next generation.”

Among the winners was Lagos Fashion Week, which won the build a waste-free world category for helping to transform the green actions of the continent’s fashion industry by requiring every participating designer to demonstrate a commitment to sustainable practice.

Rio de Janeiro-based project re.green won the protect and restore nature category for its work restoring tropical forests through the use of drones and satellite imagery and other data to identify suitable land.

Cruise said in his video message: “Good evening Rio, my dear friend your royal highness…I’m sorry I couldn’t be there in person to celebrate with you all but I wanted to take a moment to congratulate tonight’s winners and to congratulate every finalist, and thank you for all the great work you’re doing.

“Reminding us what’s possible when commitment meets purpose,but thank you for all for all the work you do and congratulations again, enjoy your evening.”

One of the children, who were all applauded when they came to the stage, said in Portuguese: “We believe in a world where nothing is wasted, and forests stretch endlessly, rivers run clear, and wildlife thrives alongside us.”

William ended with the words: “The issues that continue to face our world are a threat to all of us, but when we unite, our momentum is unstoppable.

“The momentum to face any challenge, no matter how intimidating. The momentum to achieve truly astonishing impact, faster than imagined.”

During the awards show, Mendes performed his song Youth while Seu Jorge sang the David Bowie classic Heroes.

William was later spotted singing along as Kylie closed the show with a high-energy medley of her hits Padam Padam, Can’t Get You Out of My Head and a cover of Celebration by Kool and the Gang.

After the ceremony, he thanked the performers and when the prince appeared to suggest Kylie could return for another Earthshot Prize ceremony in the future, she told him: “It’s a deal”.

The prince told the finalists they had been “so hard to judge”, adding: “It took three and a half hours of just going round and round. A lot of really good debate happened, but you guys were the clear winners in the end.”

William also spoke to Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary, who had joined Sir Keir and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who co-hosted a sustainable summit for global mayors in Rio.

The prince will join Sir Keir later on Thursday at the Cop30 climate summit being staged in the city of Belem in the Amazon.

The future King is expected to address world leaders and is likely to carry out other events related to the conference.