Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern is joining the board of trustees for The Earthshot Prize, it was announced on Tuesday.
Ms Ardern, who in January unexpectedly stepped down as prime minister, said she believed Earthshot had the power to “encourage and spread not only the innovation we desperately need, but also optimism”.
Prince William, who founded the environmental charity in 2020, said it was an honour to have Ms Ardern on the team.
“Four years ago, before The Earthshot Prize even had a name, Jacinda was one of the first people I spoke to and her encouragement and advice was crucial to the prize’s early success," said the Prince of Wales in a statement.
"I am hugely grateful to her for joining us as she takes the next steps in her career.”
Ms Ardern attended a summit hosted by Earthshot in New York in September, when she spoke on behalf of Prince William, who had remained in the UK after the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
She joins Earthshot's board as it gears up to select finalists for this year's awards.
Last year, five winners were each awarded £1 million ($1.24 million) to help them scale-up environmental solutions at a glittering ceremony in Boston in December.
They included an Omani project behind a technique for transforming atmospheric carbon into rock, and a UK company making biodegradable packaging from seaweed.
Prince William meets Earthshot Prize finalists - in pictures
Ms Ardern is this month due to begin an unpaid role in battling online extremism.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who took over from Ms Ardern, on Tuesday announced his predecessor would soon start work as Special Envoy for the Christchurch Call.
Christchurch Call's goal is to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.
More than 50 countries have signed up, including the US, Britain, Germany and South Korea. Tech companies to join include Facebook parent company Meta, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, YouTube, Zoom and Twitter.
The group says it has had success developing new online safety systems and is studying the implications of fast-rising technology such as artificial intelligence.
Ms Ardern launched the Christchurch Call with French President Emmanuel Macron in 2019, two months after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.
The gunman live-streamed the slaughter for 17 minutes on Facebook before the video was taken down.
“The Christchurch Call is a foreign policy priority for the government and Jacinda Ardern is uniquely placed to keep pushing forward with the goal of eliminating violent extremist content online,” Mr Hipkins said.
He said Ms Ardern would report directly to him.
