On the last day of 2019, Prince William announced on the Kensington Palace Instagram feed "the most prestigious environment prize in history." The multimillion-dollar Earthshot Prize, which will be formally launched in 2020 per the BBC, will hold awards ceremonies in cities around the world every year from 2021 to 2030, ABC News reports. "Who is ready to lead as we make the 2020s a decade of action to repair our planet?" reads one of the palace's two Instagram posts on the challenge. "Just as the moonshot that John F. Kennedy proposed in the 1960s catalysed new technology such as the MRI scanner and satellite dishes, we want our Earthshot challenges to create a new wave of ambition and innovation around finding ways to help save the planet," says the official website.
The palace says William and a global alliance of philanthropists and organizations will work together to "inspire the the planet’s greatest problem solvers to solve Earth’s greatest problems: the emergencies facing our natural world." The BBC says specific challenges will be launched, aiming to find at least 50 solutions to problems facing the planet. The palace says prizes "could be awarded to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations—scientists, activists, economists, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities, and countries—anyone who is making a substantial development or outstanding contribution to solving these environmental challenges." Winners will get a financial award as well as public recognition for their projects that will, hopefully, inspire businesses and governments to join in the work. (More Prince William stories.)