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The Duke of Cambridge has warned “change is not happening fast enough or at the scale we need” to repair the planet and avert “devastating planetary and humanitarian” crises.
William voiced his concerns in a speech at the Dubai Expo 2020 and said despite the gains made at the recent Cop26 UN climate change summit “we are still in a race against time”.
The future king presented a possible solution – four finalists and a category winner from his environmental Earthshot Prize, whose innovative ideas mitigate damage to the environment, find use for waste material and make solar power affordable for many.
William told delegates: “If we do nothing, by 2030 we will be speeding towards increasingly devastating planetary and humanitarian crises as a result of our changing climate.
“Or, if we act now, we will be on a path towards a repaired and regenerated planet that will flourish for generations to come.”
The finalists had joined the duke at the Expo and later he introduced a Dragons’ Den-style event allowing the “eco innovators” to connect with investors and industry leaders who could scale up their ideas.
William went on to say: “While momentum is growing – and the strides made at Cop26 in Glasgow are testament to that – we are still in a race against time.”
In an article written for The National, the daily English-language newspaper covering the United Arab Emirates (UAE), William echoed the arguments of his speech: “We are in a decisive decade for our planet.”
He added: “The choice we must make is obvious. We must make this the decade of the Earthshot. A decade where we all step up to change the course of our planet’s future.”
Last autumn, the duke held the inaugural presentation ceremony for his Earthshot Prize, which aims to find solutions to the planet’s environmental problems, and the appeal has already been made for 2022 nominees.
The duke told the Expo: “We want to see solutions led by women and indigenous peoples, using cutting-edge technology and new financial models which value nature.
“And finally we’re always on the lookout for wild cards – out of the box solutions that have transformative potential. They’re my favourites.”
Earlier the royal began a day of engagements in the United Arab Emirates by learning about efforts to safeguard the wetlands in the region as he planted saplings with school children in Jubail Mangrove Park in Abu Dhabi.
William’s visit marked the launch of the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative, between the Zoological Society of London and the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, to create a mangrove nursery as a centre of research, learning and outreach.
The duke also toured Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, which is operated by DP World, a member of the Transport Taskforce of William’s United for Wildlife umbrella organisation, which is trying to tackle the illegal trade in items such as ivory and rhino horn and is working in the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the world.
DP World, a founding partner of the Earthshot Prize, announced £1 million in funding to be divided equally between two Earthshot Prize innovations whose creators pitched their ideas at the Expo.
They were Coral Vita, winner of the Revive Our Oceans Earthshot category for its coral farming process that restores dying reefs, and finalist Living Seawalls, which creates panels that mimic marine habitats such as rock pools and are fitted to coastal defences.
William watched a showcase of music and dance celebrating his homeland as his day-long tour of the United Arab Emirates came to close.
The future king also briefly took part in the Queen’s Commonwealth Games baton relay, taking the symbol of the “friendly Games” from one sporting great and passing it to another – one leg on its 90,000-mile journey around the globe.
Triple Olympic champion cyclist Ed Clancy handed the baton to William who a few moments later passed it to former javelin competitor and Olympic gold medallist Tessa Sanderson.
Thursday was UK National Day at the Dubai Expo and William took a seat in the Al Wasl Plaza to watch popstar Tom Seals belt out Sir Elton John hits and later the Band of the Coldstream Guards perform a medley of James Bond theme tunes.
Crowds had flocked to the sound of music coming from the arena and were greeted with a lightshow of famous British heroes and achievements.
Pop star John Newman emerged onto the stage on a rising platform with a Union flag-decorated DJ set and was surrounded by cartwheeling dancers.
