London: At a time when climate diplomacy is increasingly being tested, UK Prince William delivered a message of optimism that the solutions already exist and many of them are coming from India.Speaking at the Earthshot Prize’s Impact Assembly during London Climate Action Week, he put India at the centre of the global climate solutions movement, announcing that the Earthshot Prize will be held in Mumbai later this year and highlighting Indian innovations as examples of climate action that can be scaled worldwide. The event also highlighted how an Indian idea on pollution pricing from Gujarat was being imported globally and replicated in Rio.Prince of Wales, who arrived at historic Guildhall in an e-bus, argued that the global climate conversation must increasingly move beyond warnings and focus on evidence that solutions are working, investments are flowing and innovations are scaling.“This is why I feel more optimistic than ever,” William said. “Not because the challenge is smaller. Not because science is less urgent. But because the proof is stronger than ever before.”Founded by Prince William in 2020, the Earthshot Prize has emerged as one of the world’s most influential climate and environmental innovation platforms. Five years into what he calls the “Earthshot decade”, the initiative has reviewed nearly 7,000 nominations, supported 75 finalists and awarded £25 million in grants to environmental innovators around the world.But it was India that featured prominently in William’s vision for the future.“We are taking this story to India. The biggest country on Earth, home to the world’s largest youth population, and more Earthshot Winners and Finalists than any other country. India has already shown what speed and scale can look like. Solutions born there have the power to shape the world,” he noted, pointing to the growing climate innovations emerging from across the country. He stressed that solutions developed in India could have global relevance.He argued that the challenge was no longer simply identifying solutions, but accelerating and scaling those that have already proven effective.“We can see it in cities. We can see it in communities. We can see it in businesses,” he said, suggesting that climate innovation was increasingly delivering measurable results on the ground rather than remaining confined to pilot projects.Among the examples he highlighted was Gujarat’s pioneering market-based clean-air programme developed under Earthshot finalist Clean Our Air. The emissions-trading model, first piloted in the state and now expanding across parts of India, is set to be replicated in Rio de Janeiro through a partnership involving the University of Chicago’s Emissions Market Accelerator.“The State of Gujarat in India shows how a clean air policy in one state can become a blueprint for others,” William said, presenting it as evidence that environmental solutions developed in India can travel globally.Earthshot Prize chief executive officer Jason Knauf reinforced that message, arguing that the future of climate innovation would increasingly be shaped by countries such as India rather than flow exclusively from developed economies.“The best innovations in climate and nature are happening on the ground in countries that are most affected,” Knauf said during an interaction with journalists on the sidelines of the event.“If the difference between whether countries like India succeed or not determines the fate of humanity, then this is where investment and attention need to be,” he added.Knauf said the clean-energy transition was increasingly being driven by economics, energy security and competitiveness rather than environmental idealism alone. Recent geopolitical disruptions and volatility in global energy markets, he argued, had strengthened the case for renewable energy and clean technologies.The India focus was also reflected in a series of announcements. The Earthshot Prize Awards and Summit will be held in Mumbai later this year, aiming at the initiative’s biggest engagements with the Global South.Earthshot also announced a major expansion of its youth outreach programme through the I CAN Earthshot Challenge, which aims to reach nearly one million students across more than 15,000 schools and will culminate in a Children’s Earthshot event alongside the Mumbai summit.
