Prince William's Big Announcement Is Here: Introducing Earthshot Prize

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (aka Prince William and Kate Middleton) announced on their official Twitter account that they had a big surprise coming. Many thought it might be another pregnancy, or another personal reveal.

“Stay tuned for our first announcement of 2020 very shortly…,” the royal account tweeted.

Now we know what the big announcement is: the Prince revealed that he has launched Earthshot Prize, which is “an ambitious set of challenges to inspire a decade of action to repair the planet.”

Specifically, the Earthshot Prize “will unveil a small number of Earthshot challenges in special events around the globe. These challenges will seek answers to the biggest issues currently facing the planet, including: climate and energy, nature and biodiversity, oceans, air pollution and fresh water.”

5 winners will be chosen per year year over 10 years to hopefully come up with 50 solutions to the world’s biggest issues by 2030.

“The earth is at a tipping point and we face a stark choice: either we continue as we are and irreparably damage our planet or we remember our unique power as human beings and our continual ability to lead, innovate and problem-solve,” Prince William said in a statement. “Remember the awe inspiring civilizations that we have built, the life-saving technology we have created, the fact that we have put a man on the moon. People can achieve great things. And the next 10 years presents us with one of our greatest tests: a decade of change to repair the earth.”