Creating global partnerships to address climate challenges

The United Kingdom's Prince William's Earthshot Prize has announced 15 environmental solutions in the running for five catalytic 1-million-pound Prizes. The Earthshot Prize aims to create global partnerships and innovative solutions to tackle climate change. Earlier, CNBC Africa's Palesa Mofokeng spoke to the UK High Commissioner to South Africa, Antony Phillipson, on potential solutions to address climate challenges. The Earthshot Prize was conceptualized by Prince William about three years ago with a specific focus on creating a sense of global ambition and partnership to address five great challenges that our planet faces. These challenges include restoring nature, cleaning the air, reviving oceans, creating a waste-free world, and fixing the climate. This year, the Prize ceremony will be hosted in Africa for the first time, which is significant given the continent's environmental challenges. The Earthshot Prize aims to echo President Kennedy's moonshot program in the 60s, emphasizing ambition and global collaboration to find innovative solutions. The 15 finalists selected for the Earthshot Prize will come together in Cape Town on the 16th of November for the awards ceremony. These finalists are focusing on bottom-up, entrepreneurial solutions that are tech-focused and innovative. While governments convene in large COP-type processes, the Earthshot Prize highlights the importance of private sector involvement and entrepreneurial creativity in addressing climate challenges. Post the prize-giving ceremony, finalists will receive support in the form of a cash prize, mentoring, technical assistance, and access to a fellowship program to scale their ideas and have real-world impact. The aim is to inspire future nominees and winners to create a robust community focused on generating and implementing impactful environmental solutions. The Earthshot Prize addresses the issue of developing countries being left behind in global climate investment. Despite the efforts made at COP meetings, there is a significant gap in climate finance flowing to vulnerable regions like Africa. The Earthshot Prize aims to inspire the private sector to contribute to closing this gap by showcasing entrepreneurial solutions. With the upcoming COP29 conference, there is a sense of urgency to ramp up efforts in addressing climate change. The global community needs to recommit and work together to implement pledges to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The clock is ticking, and it is crucial to make significant progress. The finalists for the Earthshot Prize were selected from nearly 2,500 nominees through a selection process conducted by the Earthshot Prize team. Nominees had the opportunity to self-nominate or be nominated by their peers. The final decision on the five winners will be made by Prince William and the Earthshot Council. The award ceremony, set to take place in Cape Town, will likely receive extensive media coverage to showcase the innovative solutions and collaborations in addressing climate challenges.