Prince William breaks silence to voice his frustrations in new video – 'Enough is enough'
PRINCE WILLIAM has urged people not to be "despondent" from the crisis faced by the globe but, rather, to join forces and tackle it.
Prince William warns of climate change emergency
Prince William recorded a speech shown during the first Conservation International Global Gala hosted by Idris and Sabrina Elba on Saturday. In the two-minute-long video, the Duke of Cambridge issued a rallying cry to government, business, individuals and associations to join forces in a concerted effort to revert the effects climate change and the exploitation of the environment are having on the planet.
In his impassioned speech, Prince William urged to be inspired by young people who have taken this challenge upon themselves, saying "enough is enough".
The Duke told attendees at the gala: "As supporters of Conservation International, you know all too well that this decade presents humanity with one of our greatest-ever tests.
"If we do not act decisively in the next 10 years, we will cause irreversible damage to our planet.
"This damage will not be felt equally by everyone.
"It is the most vulnerable, those with the fewest resources and those who have done the least to cause climate change who will continue to be impacted the most.
"But rather than being despondent about these challenges, let us instead take our lead from the many millions of young people around the world who have made this calls their own, and said that enough is enough.
"All of us, across all sector of society, and across all corners of the globe, must come together to fundamentally reset our relationship with nature and our trajectory as a species.
"I truly believe that humans have an extraordinary capacity to set goals and strive to achieve them.
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"The remarkable development of the COVID-19 vaccine in record time is a case in point."
Prince William went on speaking about the Earthshot Prize, the ambitious initiative he launched in autumn 2020 which will award five £1million prizes every year for the next decade to individuals, organisations, businesses and governments able to come up with workable solutions on five set issues.
Speaking about his project, with which Conservation International has partnered up, William said: "That is why I founded the Earthshot Prize.
"Over the next 10 years, the Earthshot Prize will incentivise, reward and scale solutions to solve the greatest environmental challenges of our time.
"We set five ambitious goals for the end of the decade: protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world and fix our climate."
The Earthshot Prize was launched in collaboration with Sir David Attenborough and will be run by Kate and William's Royal Foundation.
The inspiration for the awards' name was drawn from US President John F. Kennedy's Moonshot, his plan launched in 1961 to send American astronauts on the Moon within the decade.
The first award ceremony of the Earthshot Prize will take place in autumn 2021.
Winners will be decided by the initiative's Council, composed of leading personalities who have dedicated much of their efforts to make a positive impact on the environment.
Alongside Prince William and Sir David there is Queen Rania of Jordan, actress Cate Blanchett and basketball player Yao Ming.
Prince William's message to the gala was well received on Twitter, where it was recently shared by the organisation.
One royal fan wrote: "Amazing! Our future King. We love you."
Another said: "Prince William has a heart for conservation and the environment!"
A third said: "He is so amazing"
And another added: "I totally agree. We need to work as a whole to preserve this beautiful planet of ours".