How Prince William Is Urging Politicians To Approach A Crisis Close To His Heart

On November 2, Prince William delivered a keynote address as part of the COP26 climate summit. This, only days after it was confirmed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, was released from a U.K. hospital following a health issue. 

Though top officials at Buckingham Palace and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have done their best to reassure members of the public that the queen is, as the latter said, "in very good form" (via the Daily Mail), she took a recommended two-week rest period. And in the interim, other members of the royal family have, of course, continued fulfilling their duties. In the case of Prince William, that meant speaking to governing members of various nations about the dire climate issues that both affect — and play out — on the world stage.

During William's recent speech, which took place in Glasgow, Scotland as part of the United Nations conference, the Duke of Cambridge introduced 15 finalists for an inaugural prize ceremony of his own making. Per People, it's also a project which, if all goes according to plan, will become an annual international event that aims to make the world a better place. So what's the gist of it all? And what did William have to say about the conference's central cause, one close to his heart? 

It's no secret that the issue of climate change is one that Prince William has been passionate about for quite some time – as it also served as the impetus for his latest project, the newly-minted Earshot Prize Awards. Per the competition's website, it will award £1 million (or $1.1 million USD) to five recipients annually over the next decade who come up with "collaborative" solutions that "meet the environmental challenges" posed by the threat of climate change. 

William's COP26 speech, which introduced Earshot's 15 finalists in the first year of the competition's history, contained an appeal to leaders present in the audience: namely, "to look without fear or despair at the challenges ahead in this crucial decade, and to believe that we humans have the ingenuity to make the seemingly impossible, possible," as he stated, per People. The next big climate idea could be in the mix.

"Their ingenuity is amazing. Their potential is off the charts," he continued, as he introduced the group. Amongst them, per People, was 15-year-old Vinisha Umashankar. William described the young wiz as, "the brains behind a solar ironing cart, with the potential to improve air quality by replacing charcoal with solar power for literally millions of street vendors." "I'm not just a girl from India, I'm a girl from earth," Umashankar said as she took the stage. The initiative would definitely make one Prince Phillip very proud.