The third annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony took place Tuesday in Singapore, where Britain’s Prince William walked the green carpet alongside celebrities like actress Cate Blanchett and actor Ted Lasso to honor five green innovators working on projects including a cleaner lithium-ion battery and ocean conservation. The award ceremony is the first to take place in Asia, and the Prince said he believes the “light of optimism is burning bright” among the winners.
He said he was particularly proud of a group of winners from Accion Andina, an initiative that works to protect native high Andean forest ecosystems for their benefits to nature and millions of people in the region, and a solar-powered dryer project that reduces food waste. He also said he was impressed by a team from China that has developed a new way to make electric car batteries that is more cost effective and more efficient.
William founded the award in 2020 in order to inspire optimism around some of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges and to fund solutions to them. He described the innovations of the winners as “inspiring and life-changing,” adding that he was thrilled to be in Singapore for the ceremony.
He praised the country’s bold vision to be a leader in environmental innovation, and said he hopes that other countries can learn from Singapore’s example. “The next generation needs to be able to live in a sustainable world,” he added.
The heir to the British throne last visited Singapore with his wife, Princess Catherine, in 2012, and was visiting solo this time. He was welcomed at Changi Airport by the country’s president, Lee Hsien Loong, and was shown a tree planted in his honor at the airport’s Rain Vortex, the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
In the final of the Singapore Championship, Ockie Styrdom won his second title of the season after a three-shot victory over Sami Valimaki at the Marina Bay Golf Club. Styrdom, who is from Finland but now lives in Malaysia, earned a $340,000 paycheck, 16.5 Official World Ranking points and 460 Race to Dubai points. Valimaki, who had won the tournament last year, finished in runner-up place and received $220,000.
At Victoria Theatre, the 2022 biennial Singapore Literature Prize awarded its winners for 12 categories in the country’s four languages of Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. A total of 43 writers were shortlisted in the competition, which included a consumer choice category where readers voted for their favorite works. Two of the winning books are in nonfiction and the other two are fiction. You can read about all of the shortlisted books and authors, categorized by language, here. The winners will receive their prizes in November.