The Prince of Wales was speaking Friday night at the Earthshot Awards, a gala that promotes the fight against global warming.

Prince William concluded his visit to the United States on Friday with the Earthshot Awards ceremony, a gala he launched last year to fight climate change. This second edition, set in Boston, opens with a short film featuring the son of King Charles III. Spectators saw him give a plea for environmental protection.

“For too long many of us have taken for granted what our planet has to offer,” said the Prince of Wales. “The urgency to save the planet is accelerating, and the time we have before us to make meaningful change is running short.”

From the moon landing to saving the Earth

As the magazine reported Peoplethe Earthshot award is directly inspired by the 1969 moon landing by the Apollo 11 crew, commonly referred to as “Moonshot” in the English-speaking world.

President John F. Kennedy had set a ten year deadline to achieve this (goal achieved seven years later). Likewise, the purpose of the Earthshot Awards was held annually for a decade, highlighting environmental protection initiatives.

“Just as President John F. Kennedy believed that humanity could put a man on the moon, I share today’s belief that we can repair and regenerate our planet in this pivotal decade that it began,” Prince William said Friday in this brief. . film. “From ‘Moonshoot’ to ‘Earthshot’, what seems unsolvable can be solved.”

And to conclude: “Together, we can create the future that future generations deserve. Together, we can change the future of our planet.”

Award winning initiative

Five prizes of over one million pounds (1.2 million euros) each were awarded during the night. A myriad of stars paraded the green carpet of Boston’s MGM Music Hall, including singers Ellie Goulding and Annie Lennox, actor Rami Malek and former soccer player David Beckham. Naturalist and television presenter David Attenborough and actress Cate Blanchett judged the gala competition.

Among the winners were a women’s startup offering greener cooking stoves for Kenyan households and a British company creating biodegradable packaging made from marine plants. Green projects from Australia, India and Oman also won awards.

New racist controversy

The Prince of Wales’s journey (during which he spoke briefly with Joe Biden) and his wife Kate Middleton in the United States has suffered from renewed controversy over racism in Great Britain, at the wrong time for the royal family to want it. restored her image following Harry and Meghan’s departure to the United States.

An 83-year-old former lady-in-waiting, Susan Hussey, close to Elizabeth II for more than 60 years and Prince William’s godmother, stepped down on Wednesday after questions (“Where are you from in Africa?”, “D’where are you really from?” ? Where do people like you come from?’) she asked black feminist, Ngozy Fulani, at a reception in Buckingham on Tuesday night.

The Palace denounced the “unacceptable and truly regrettable comments”. Refusing to comment directly on the incident, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the UK’s first head of government of Indian origin, called for “confronting” racism “whenever it is seen”.

Shadows of suspicion of racism are cast a second time over the royal family. In 2021, Meghan and Harry revealed that a member of the royal family wondered before he was born what color their son Archie would have. The royal family is “certainly not racist”, replied William, cool with his youngest son Harry.