Prince William announces Earthshot Prize finalists

Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Prince William has announced the finalists for this year's EarthShot Prize, an award recognizing innovative environmental solutions.

Five winners of the prize, inspired by President John F. Kennedy's Moonshot initiative which called on innovators to help put a human on the moon, will be announced next month in Boston, each will receive about $1.2 million to help realize their projects.

"I am so excited to share these 15 finalists and see the five winners of the Earthshot Prize announced in Boston -- the hometown of President John F. Kennedy who shared the Earhshot Prize's belief that seemingly impossible goals are within reach," said Prince William.

"The Earthshot Prize is centered around five 'Earthshots,' -- simple, ambitious, and aspirational goals defining the world we wish to build for future generations," reads a statement posted to the Earthshot Prize's website on Friday. The five "Earthshots" are: to protect and restore nature, to clean our air, to revive our oceans, to build a waste-free world, and to fix our climate.

This year's finalists include innovations from across the world intended to tackle a multitude of environmental challenges.

The Great Bubble Barrier, a Dutch invention, uses bubbles to draw plastic waste out of waterways into a disposal unit. Low Carbon Materials, a British-designed innovation, uses plastic waste to make concrete blocks carbon zero. Fleather, an Indian innovation, makes leather out of floral waste. Mikuru Clean Stoves, a Kenyan innovation, creates cleaner burning stoves to reduce pollution and contamination.

The finalists are "directing their time, energy, and talent towards bold solutions with the power to not only to solve our planet's greatest environmental challenges, but to create healthier, more prosperous, and more sustainable communities for generations to come," said Prince William.

The five winners will be chosen by the Earthshot Prize Council which includes Jack Ma, Prince William, Shakira Mebarak and Cate Blanchet.

The awards ceremony will be held at the MGM Music Hall in Boston on Dec. 2 and will air on PBS in the United States on BBC in Britain and on Multichoice in Africa before being available to watch on YouTube starting Dec. 4.