In terms of climate, the year 2020 has shattered a number of heat records, raising alarm bells that the Earth is heading for an increase in global temperatures of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that an increase above this threshold could have dangerous and life-threatening consequences through heatwaves, rising sea levels and water scarcity, among many others.
“We want to change the conversation and show that we can provide solutions, we can tackle this, and in 10 years’ time, we can make our planet more sustainable and more prosperous and better for everyone,” the prince told CNN.
“My grandfather started doing stuff with conservation a long time ago, WWF particularly. My father was ahead of his time talking about climate change. I don’t want to be ahead of my time because then we’re already too late — now is the time to act.”
Jason Knauf, Chief Executive of The Royal Foundation, which will oversee the prize, said to reporters in a briefing earlier this week that the world was in a “make-or-break decade for the planet.”
“We are rapidly approaching a number of tipping points and we know that if we don’t act now we may find that stopping runaway climate change and destruction of the natural world will simply become impossible. This isn’t theory anymore,” he said.
