400 Africans nominated for £5m Earthshot Prize for climate solutions

Hannah Jones, chief executive officer (CEO) of Earthshot Prize, a global environmental initiative founded by Prince William, says 400 Africans were nominated for this year’s awards.

The 2024 Earthshot Prize is in partnership with MultiChoice, a video and entertainment company.

Speaking at the launch ceremony in Lagos on Friday, Jones said fifteen finalists would be announced at the UN General Assembly in September.

She said the award will see five winners in oceans, nature, clean air, waste, and climate go home with a prize money of £1 million each.

“Africa has 400 nominations —the largest number of nominations of any region in the world. And that makes a bigger point because we think that is just the tip of the iceberg of incredible innovation that’s happening across the continent of Africa,” Jones said.

“Then we get to a place where we have 15 finalists from around the world. And we will announce them in September at the UN General Assembly.

“At the award ceremony in Cape Town, we will unveil the five winners —one for oceans, nature, clean air, waste and climate. Each of them will receive a million pounds in grand money to help them to scale that idea.

“The Earthshot Prize symbolises our shared commitment to finding and implementing innovative solutions. It is not just an award; it is a call to action.”

In her remarks, Atinuke Babatunde, academy director, MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), West Africa, said winners will be trained on leadership and necessary skills to scale their solutions.

The event also featured panel discussion on innovative solutions to tackle climate change issues in Africa. Temilade Salami, founder of EcoChampions; Olumide Idowu, executive director of the International Climate Change Development Initiative; and other stakeholders took turns to discuss how environmental sustainability can be achieved in Africa.

There were video presentations by students of the MultiChoice Talent Factory to further highlight the diverse impact of climate change and how the issues can be addressed.