Two Dutch efforts are finalists for the Earthshot prize

Today, Prince William and the EarthShot Prize announced the finalists for the 2022 EarthShot Prize – a group of talented entrepreneurs and innovators who are presenting 15 groundbreaking solutions to the biggest environmental challenges facing our planet. Fifteen finalists stand a chance to win the £1 million prize during the second annual presentation of the EarthShot Prize. There are two Dutch finalists: the Great Bubble Barrier and the Municipality of Amsterdam Circular Economy.

The award was presented by President John F. Inspired by Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot’, it brought millions of people together around an organizing goal of putting a man on the moon and inspired the development of new technology in the 1960s.

Prince William said: “The innovators, leaders and visionaries who make up our 2022 EarthShot finalists demonstrate that there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of our planet. They are working on bold solutions that will not only solve our planet’s biggest environmental problems, but also create healthy, prosperous and sustainable societies for generations to come. Celebrating these fifteen finalists, I am thrilled to announce the five winners of the EarthShot Prize in Boston—hometown of President John F. Kennedy, who shared the belief of the EarthShot Prize, but harnessing infinite power, that seemingly impossible goals can be achieved. Innovation, Human ingenuity and faith.”

As well as being eligible for a £1 million prize, all finalists will receive relevant support and resources from members of the EarthShot Prize Global Alliance, which is committed to helping private sector companies around the world scale up innovative climate and environmental solutions. Multiply their impact.

Five winners will be selected by the EarthShot Prize Council, a group of influential people who want to use their platforms to promote inspirational leadership and advance urgent efforts to restore and regenerate the planet.

Members of the Earthshot Prize Council: HRH Prince William, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Cate Blanchett, Daniel Alves da Silva, Sir David Attenborough, Ernest Gibson, Hindoo Omaroo Ibrahim, Jack Ma, Shakira Mebarak, Yao Ming Neubauer, Indira Nooyi, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Naoko Yamazaki.

A truly global program, the EarthShot Prize is made up of diverse committees nominated by more than 200 individuals and organizations from around the world, a distinguished expert advisory board and the EarthShot Prize Council. action.

Fifteen finalists Reviewed by an expert advisory panel comprising scientific, academic and subject leaders. Each of the finalists’ solutions excelled in a rigorous screening process and were judged for their potential to create a groundbreaking global impact and help us meet our Earthshot challenges while positively impacting people, communities and the natural world. There are two Dutch finalists: the Great Bubble Barrier and the Municipality of Amsterdam Circular Economy.

The EarthShot Awards ceremony will take place on Friday, December 2 at the MGM Music Hall in Boston. The award will be broadcast worldwide on the BBC in the UK, PBS in the US and Multichoice in Africa. The show is available worldwide on YouTube. The premiere will be held on Sunday, December 4.

Amsterdam Municipality wants to be circular by 2050

In 2020, the municipality of Amsterdam took a radical step to become the first city to commit to a circular economy, in which waste is eliminated and citizens thrive. By 2030, the city will halve its use of fresh raw materials. By 2050, its economy will be fully circular.

To this end, waste is reduced in three areas: the food Amsterdammers eat, the materials they use and the construction of the built environment. Most importantly, the city makes its residents and businesses think differently: from ‘use and throw away’ to ‘remember and reuse’.

Two years after the city’s ‘circular strategy’ was launched, things are already changing. For example, when Covid hit, the city helped local textile companies cut clothing repair costs by 80% to encourage more reuse as housing budgets collapsed.

Big bubble barrier

Much of the plastic in the ocean comes from our rivers and canals, where it harms wildlife, damages boats and contributes to climate change. But once plastic waste enters our oceans, it is nearly impossible to capture and dispose of it.

In the Netherlands, a country characterized by its waterways, a group of marine activists led by Francis Zott, Anne Marie Eveleins and Philip Ehrhorn has developed a unique way to prevent harmful plastic from reaching our oceans. Know the big bubble barrier.