A technique for transforming atmospheric carbon into rock in Oman was named one of the five winners of this year's Earthshot Prize.
The second annual Earthshot Prize offered £1 million ($1.2 million) in prize money to each of the winners in five categories: nature protection, clean air, ocean revival, waste elimination and climate change.
The winners and all 15 finalists will receive aid in expanding their projects to meet global demand.
The Omani project, 44.01, is named after the molecular mass of carbon dioxide.
“We’re honoured to be the Middle East’s first Earthshot finalist,” the founder of 44.01, Talal Hasan, told The National.
The other winners included a female-founded start-up that is providing cleaner-burning biomass stoves in Africa and a “greenhouse-in-a-box” concept created to increase yields on small farms in India.
A UK company making biodegradable packaging from seaweed and a woman-led effort to create a new generation of indigenous rangers in Australia were also included.
At the ceremony in Boston, the UK's Prince William on Friday sounded an optimistic tone about solving the world’s environmental problems through “hope, optimism and urgency".
The Prince of Wales paid homage to the late John F Kennedy, saying his Earthshot Prize was inspired by the former US president's audacious speech in 1962 that mobilised the nation to put astronauts on the Moon.
That same sense of urgency and scale is needed now to protect the environment, Prince William said.
“In the same way the space effort six decades ago created jobs, boosted economies and provided hope, so, too, can the solutions borne of tonight’s Earthshot Prize winners,” he said.
The event was held at Boston’s MGM Music Hall as part of a glitzy show headlined by Billie Eilish, David Beckham, Rami Malek, Shaliene Woodley, Annie Lennox, Ellie Goulding, and R&B duo Chloe and Halle Bailey.
Also walking the green carpet for the festivities was US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and his wife Lauren, actor Daniel Dae Kim and Mitt Romney, a senator from Utah.
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Britain's Prince William speaks on stage during the inaugural Earthshot Prize awards ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London in October 2021. AFP -
Billie Eilish will headline the star-studded awards ceremony, held in the US city of Boston. PA -
English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding will also be present at the event. AFP -
Daniel Dae Kim is co-hosting the Earthshot awards with the BBC's Clara Amfo. AFP -
Rami Malek will also appear at the Earthshot Prize awards in Boston. AFP -
Catherine O'Hara is set to present an award. Reuters -
Shailene Woodley is part of a group of actors and performers making appearances at the Earthshot Prize event. AP
The show also featured videos narrated by naturalist David Attenborough and actress Cate Blanchett.
It will be broadcast by the BBC in the UK, PBS in the US and Multichoice across Africa later on Friday.
In a guest article in The Huffington Post, the future king said about the finalists: "The Earthshot Prize wants to find the best of them. We want to celebrate and support them, so that we not only supercharge their positive impact but also demonstrate to a despairing world that there is an optimistic way forward.
"Dire predictions about our natural world aren't the only side to this story and they don't have to be our future."
The Prince and Princess of Wales are on their first overseas trip since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, aiming to showcase the younger face of a monarchy that is tackling important issues such as climate change as it attempts to remain relevant in a modern, multicultural Britain.
Before attending the Earthshot ceremony, Prince William met US President Joe Biden after his visit at the John F Kennedy Memorial Library and Museum.
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Members of the Kennedy family pose for a photo circa 1948 in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. From left, John, Jean, Rose, Joseph Sr, Patricia, Robert, Eunice and in the foreground Edward. AP -
Joseph Patrick Kennedy, wife Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and their five children pose in the garden of the US embassy in London in 1937. Getty Images -
John F Kennedy and wife Jacqueline take a ride on their sailboat in Hyannis Port. AP -
President-elect John F Kennedy, centre, is surrounded by family members. AP -
John F Kennedy, right, and Richard Nixon appear in the fourth and final presidential debate in New York. The 1960 presidential election offered the country's first televised debates. AP -
Former US president Dwight Eisenhower shakes hands with Jacqueline Kennedy as she and president-elect John F Kennedy arrive at the North Portico of the White House on inauguration day, January 20, 1961. AP -
President John F Kennedy and British prime minister at the time Harold Macmillan stand in the West Wing Colonnade of the White House in 1961. AFP -
Jackie Kennedy boards a plane with her sister, Lee Radziwill. Getty Images -
Edward Kennedy at the White House in 1962, flanked by his brothers Robert and John. AP -
Jackie Kennedy leads her daughter Caroline's pony, Macaroni, while giving gives a tour of the White House grounds to Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran in 1962. AP -
The Kennedy children play in the Oval Office at White House. AFP -
Deputy administrator of Nasa Robert Seamans and Wernher von Braun with John F Kennedy in November 1963. Nasa / AP -
Jackie Kennedy with her children during the funeral of her husband on November 25, 1963. AP -
Eunice Kennedy cheers on a young athlete during the Special Olympics, started by the Kennedy family. Getty Images -
Joe Biden when he was in the Senate with Edward Kennedy in 1987. AP -
Joe Biden talks to then-president Bill Clinton's Supreme Court nominee Stephen Breyer, as Edward Kennedy looks on. AP -
John F Kennedy Jr answering journalists questions soon after his mother Jackie Kennedy's death in New York. AFP -
John F Kennedy Jr and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy arrive at the White House for a state dinner in 1998. Both died in a plane crash in 1999. AFP -
A woman adds a candle to a makeshift memorial during a candlelight vigil for Edward Kennedy in Washington. Getty Images / AFP -
Former US representative Joseph Kennedy II speaking at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston in 2009. AP -
The Kennedy brothers, from left, John, Robert and Edward. AP -
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, seen here at Viking Press, became a book editor. Photo: Corbis -
Caroline Kennedy, the sole surviving child of president John F Kennedy, is the current US ambassador to Australia and previously served as ambassador to Japan under president Barack Obama. Getty Images / AFP -
John F Kennedy, right, Robert F Kennedy, second from right, and Patricia Kennedy, front left, pose with friends in Palm Beach in 1936. AP -
Eunice Kennedy Shriver with her husband, Robert Sargent Shriver. Photo: WireImage -
Wearing a gown by Christian Dior, Eunice Kennedy marries Robert Sargent Shriver in 1957. Getty Images -
Maria Shriver and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007. Ms Shriver is the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver. AP -
President Sheikh Mohamed, who was Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the time, greets Maria Shriver. Photo: Ministry of the Presidential Court -
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have three children: Christina, Patrick and Katherine. AP -
Maria Shriver speaks during the Women's March in Los Angeles in 2021. AFP -
Robert F Kennedy addresses campaign workers moments before being shot in Los Angeles in 1968, his wife Ethel at his side. AP -
Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F Kennedy, in 2014. Reuters -
The Kennedy Family at Hyannis Port in 1931. From left, Robert, John, Eunice, Jean, Joseph Senior, Rose, Patricia, Kathleen, Joseph Jr and Rosemary. The dog in the foreground is Buddy. Photo: John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum -
Katherine Schwarzenegger, daughter of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger, is married to US actor Chris Pratt. AP -
Robert F Kennedy's daughter Kerry Kennedy in 2021. She was previously married to former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. AFP -
Robert F Kennedy Jr speaks at the Defeat the Mandates rally in Washington, protesting against the Covid-19 vaccine. EPA -
US actress Cheryl Hines is married to Robert F Kennedy Jr. AFP -
Cheryl Hines condemned her husband's remarks comparing the Covid vaccine and mask mandates to the Holocaust. Getty -
Arnold Schwarzenegger and daughter Christina Schwarzenegger. Photo: US Special Olympics
The two discussed climate goals and mental health, the White House said.
Prince William was greeted by former president Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy.
Ms Kennedy showed the prince around the grounds along with her children John Kennedy Schlossberg and Tatiana Kennedy Schlossberg.
While he was at the Library, the Princess of Wales visited Harvard University's Centre on the Developing Child. The centre is a leader in research into the long-term impact of early childhood experiences.
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Prince William greets US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. Reuters -
The Prince of Wales and Ms Kennedy tour the library. AP -
Prince William speaks with Jack and Tatiana Kennedy Schlossberg, the ambassador's children. AFP -
Ms Kennedy Schlossberg is the daughter of former president John F Kennedy, whose Moonshot initiative challenged the US to put a man on the Moon. PA -
The Moonshot is the main inspiration behind the Earthshot Prize. PA -
Prince William during rehearsals for the Earthshot awards at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston. PA -
Kate, Princess of Wales, rehearses for the Earthshot awards. PA -
The Princess of Wales waves to the crowd after visiting the Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. AP -
The Princess of Wales sits in on a roundtable discussion at the Centre on the Developing Child. AP -
The princess greets people at the centre. AP -
Young and old waited for a glimpse of the Princess of Wales. AFP -
Kate greets well-wishers gathered outside after visiting the Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University in Cambridge. AP -
The Princess of Wales signs the guest book during a visit to the centre. PA -
A signature by King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, in a guest book above one signed by Kate. AP -
The Princess of Wales poses for a photo with the crowd after a tour of Roca in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Prince William greets people on the left. AP -
Prince William takes time to greet people in the crowd after a visit to Roca. AFP -
The Prince and Princess of Wales greet Matthew Quinton, who is in the Young Men's Programme at Roca. AP -
Young Sofia momentarily stole the couple's thunder at Roca. AP -
Roca is an organisation that helps troubled and at-risk young people. AP -
Prince William engages with children at Roca. AFP -
Kate with children at Roca. EPA -
Prince William and Kate visit the Harbour Defences of Boston, as the city contends with rising sea levels. AFP
News agencies contributed to this report
