Queen Rania and Prince William prize the planet

Vaccine success is a model for reversing climate change

A security guard walks in front of a poster showing earth wearing a protective facemask. AFP

The Duke of Cambridge, inspired by mankind's successful search for coronavirus vaccines, sent an Earth Day message urging the world to unite to save the planet.

Prince William said the raft of different Covid-19 vaccines developed within 12 months showed the “spirit of invention” that could also be used to save the planet from climate change.

He described climate change as “the most pressing challenge in human history” and one that will be felt for generations to come.

The prince's letter to The Times was published on Earth Day as world leaders gather for a US-led climate summit that the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a "chance to preserve our planet".

Around $3.5 trillion is required between now and 2050 to meet targets for a 'sustainable path', according to the International Energy Agency. AP Photo

The makeshift Suweida camp for internally displaced people in Yemen’s Marib province. The effects of climate change have exacerbated the displacement of local populations during the country’s war. AFP

A firefighter monitors a controlled burn, near Jolon, California.Frequent wildfires are an indication of climate change further getting out of control, say environmentalists. Bloomberg

Wildfire burns through the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, north of Azusa, California. AFP

Steam rises from a steel mill in Duisburg, Germany. Some countries are using the coronavirus pandemic to wind back climate change commitments, say environmentalists. Getty Images

A deforested area close to Sinop, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest rose by almost 22 percent from August 2020 to July 2021, compared with the same period the year before, reaching a 15-year high. AFP

“The availability of vaccines after only a year is both a triumph of science and a victory for collaboration,” the letter says.

“There is a long way to go. None of us are safe until everybody is safe. But we have learnt what it means to pull together in the face of a truly global crisis.”

The letter is also signed by Sir David Attenborough, Queen Rania of Jordan, actress Cate Blanchett, and the other eight members on the council of the Prince's Earthshot awards for tackling climate change.

The Earthshots, set up last year, is a £50 million prize fund to find the best ideas for tackling climate change. Five winners over 10 years will each receive £1 million.

“These lessons apply not just to pandemics but to the most pressing challenge in human history: stopping the climate emergency,” the letter reads.

“If we do not act in this decade the damage to our planet will be irreversible, affecting not only those of us alive today but the future of generations to come.”

The Earthshots were inspired by US President John F Kennedy’s Moonshot speech in which he vowed to put a man on the moon.

Earthshot prizes will be awarded to the best ideas to achieve five "universal goals to repair our planet by 2030" – protecting and restoring nature, cleaning the air, reviving the oceans, building a waste-free world and fixing the climate.

The aim is to find "new solutions" that have a positive effect on environmental change and improve living standards globally, particularly in communities most at risk from climate change.

Conservationist Sir David Attenborough (left) was one of the inspirations for Prince William's Earthshot prize. Royal Foundation

In his letter on Thursday, Prince William added: “We will find and reward inclusive solutions that can repair the planet, help to protect those who are most vulnerable to the changing climate, and create a healthier, cleaner and better life for us all.

“As people worldwide queue for their vaccinations, now is the time to harness that spirit of invention and give the Earth a shot too.”