Photo: Instagram.com/queenrania
HM Queen Rania of Jordan spoke via a video message at the first-ever Earthshot Innovation Showcase at Expo 2020 Dubai yesterday. Founded by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who was in the audience as part of his first official trip to the UAE, the Earthshot Prize Council includes the Jordanian royal as one of its members. The pre-recorded video saw Queen Rania address climate change, calling on countries for a united and resilient face in front of the crisis.
The royal pointed out that the pandemic has shown us what is possible when countries come together with a united mission, and also when flights and traffic were reduced. “For just a moment, our planet healed. The streets were quieter, the air was cleaner, the water clearer. But that didn’t last,” she said. Addressing the impact of climate change in the region, she added, “Today, our shared environment is under strain. Here in the Middle East, temperatures are rising, while water supplies are shrinking. And we’re not alone.”
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“When it comes to the environment, every region is under threat. The question now is what will be our future,” said Her Majesty, adding that, “human ingenuity is the ultimate renewable resource. And the fuel we need to save our planet rests in our own heads, hearts, and hands.” The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award that seeks to discover, accelerate, and scale groundbreaking eco-innovations to repair and regenerate the planet. At yesterday’s event, five innovative solutions from the 2021 Earthshot Prize finalists were showcased, representing three of the Prize’s five categories: Revive our Oceans, Fix our Climate, and Build a Waste-free World. Queen Rania remarked that she remains hopeful, “because the future is these finalists and so many like them around the world.”
“But as exciting as these bold initiatives are, we’re all in a race against time,” the royal continued. “To realize the hopeful future before us, we need to work as one,” she said. “If community-based projects such as the ones we saw today had more capital behind them, together we’d realise that problems that seemed overwhelming are actually manageable. Together, we’d see that we can heal our planet. Earth is our home and this is our shot.”
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Her sentiment was echoed by Prince William, who said, “We have reason to hope, our future is not yet set, and while the task ahead is great, we still have the ability to repair our planet, and create a better world. The Earthshot mission is more than just a prize. It’s a global team effort to spark urgent optimism and game-changing innovation to transform our future.”
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