Prince William and Kate recycle outfits for inaugural Earthshot prizes

Prince William has sent a clear warning on climate change at his inaugural Earthshot prize ceremony, where the royal and his wife Kate dazzled in recycled outfits.

Prince William wore a pair of 20-year-old trousers to present the inaugural Earthshot prizes at a ceremony in London on Sunday, with projects from Costa Rica, Italy, the Bahamas and India picking up prizes.

The royal also wore a dark green velvet blazer he previously wore at a charity gala in 2019, while his wife Kate arrived wearing a lilac Alexander McQueen dress she wore to a BAFTA dinner in Los Angeles in 2011.

The new annual awards were created by the royal to reward efforts to save the planet in the face of climate change and global warming.

The Duke of Cambridge and Duchess of Cambridge attend the Earthshot Prize 2021 in London, England. Picture: Getty Images

Five winners were announced, each receiving a million pounds ($1.4 million).

Among the A-listers at the ceremony were Harry Potter star Emma Watson, who walked the “green carpet” at London’s Alexandra Palace wearing a wedding dress made of 10 dresses from Oxfam, Dame Emma Thompson and Sir David Attenborough.

The build-up to the televised event – featuring performances by Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and others – was marked by royal displeasure at world leaders’ inaction on climate change.

The prince hopes it will help propel the fight against climate change leading up to the COP26 summit, which opens in Scotland at the end of the month, calling those on the shortlist “innovators, leaders and visionaries”.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend the Earthshot Prize 2021 at Alexandra Palace. Picture: Getty Images

The royal couple wore recycled outfits. Picture: Getty Images

In a short film recorded for the ceremony in the London Eye and released ahead of the event on Sunday, Prince William warns: “Today the warning sounds around the world are clear. We don’t need a Moonshot, we need Earthshots. Each year for the next 10 years we will award five prizes, one for each Earthshot, to those who bring hope into our future.”

He adds: “actions we choose or choose not to take in the next 10 years will determine the fate of the planet for the next thousand”.

“A decade doesn’t seem long, but humankind has an outstanding record of being able to solve the unsolvable,” he says.

Emma Watson’s outfit was made of 10 dresses from Oxfam. Picture: Getty Images

“The future is ours to determine. And if we set our minds to it, nothing is impossible.”

The Earthshot Prize, launched in October last year, was inspired by US president John F. Kennedy’s “Moonshot” project in the 1960s to put a man on the moon.

It covers five areas: how to protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.

Prince William announced that the 2022 edition of the Earthshot Prize will be held in the United States.

Kate and William at Alexandra Palace in London for the Earthshot Prize. Picture: AFP

In a BBC interview this week, William took a potshot at wealthy space tourists, for neglecting problems closer to Earth, while his father and grandmother have also weighed in this week on climate change.

Opening the Welsh legislature in Cardiff on Thursday, Queen Elizabeth was overheard upbraiding world leaders who “talk” but “don’t do” enough about the planetary crisis.

She complained that not enough leaders had confirmed their attendance at COP26, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the key players in doubt.

Prince William and Kate share a joke with British actor David Oyelowo. Picture: Getty Images

Winning initiatives

The Republic of Costa Rica was one of the winners picking up the “Protect and Restore Nature” award for its efforts to protect forests, plant trees and restore ecosystems.

“We receive this recognition with pride but humility, what we have achieved in this small country in Central America can be done anywhere,” said Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado.

Indian company Takachar won the “Clean our Air” prize for the creation of a portable machine which turns agricultural waste into fertiliser so that farmers do not burn the waste and cause air pollution.

The other winners included Coral Vita, from the Bahamas, for a project to grow coral in tanks, 50 times quick than coral normally grows.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge at the London Eye, central London. Picture: AFP

The northern Italian city of Milan won the “Food Waste Hubs” award for collecting unused food and giving it to people who need it most.

The “Fix our Climate” laureate went to a joint Thai-German-Italian team for the AEM Electrolyzer, which uses renewable energy to make clean hydrogen by splitting water into its constituent elements.

Each of the finalists – chosen by experts from more than 750 nominations – will be given help from companies to develop their projects.

Judges included Sir Attenborough, Australian actress Cate Blanchett and singer Shakira.

Queen Elizabeth II stands with her son Prince Charles in the grounds of Windsor Castle, after Charles planted a tree to launch The Queen's Green Canopy tree-planting initiative. Picture: AFP

HARRY, MEGHAN SNUB HISTORIC CLIMATE CHANGE FORUM

“Eco-warriors” Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will miss this year’s COP26 climate change conference in November.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will skip the highly anticipated Glasgow climate event, while the Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, William and Kate are all set to attend, according to The Sun.

The Royal announcement comes weeks after Harry and Meghan attended the star-studded Global ­Citizen Live concert in New York — dubbed “Wokestock” — which demanded tough new eco laws to halve US emissions by 2030.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive to speak at the 2021 Global Citizen Live festival at the Great Lawn, Central Park in New York City. Picture: AFP

It also pressed the “wealthiest nations” to deliver on a £70 billion-a-year pledge to help developing countries go green.

In July, the Sussex Royal Instagram account posted a collage of social media accounts that the royal couple identified as environmentalists, people and organisations that are trying to save the world, from National Geographic to Greta Thunberg, Mike Bloomberg and Jane Goodall.

Artists paint a mural on a wall next to the Clydeside Expressway near Scottish Events Centre which will be hosting the COP26 UN Climate Summit. Picture: Getty Images

Despite Harry and Meghan’s absence, other members of the royal family are expected to address the conference and hold talks with key leaders.

Opening the Welsh legislature in Cardiff on Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II was overheard upbraiding world leaders who “talk” but “don’t do” enough about the planetary crisis.

The queen complained that not enough leaders had confirmed their attendance at COP26, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the key players in doubt.

The summit begins on 31 October and goes until 12 November.

Originally published as Prince William and Kate recycle outfits for inaugural Earthshot prizes