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Prince William made an appearance on Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett and climate activist Danny Kennedy’s podcast, Climate of Change. “Pleasure to join ‘Climate of Change’ podcast on @AudibleUK discussing @EarthshotPrize , my love of the environment and so much more with Cate Blanchett and Danny Kennedy,” the Cambridges’ social media accounts wrote on Thursday.
The future King joined the podcast hosts at a solar-powered studio in London. On the podcast, which was released on April 13, William spoke about his connection to the natural world revealing that it “started pretty young.” He said, “I think watching a lot of documentaries, particularly with David Attenborough, I think as a young age that kind of really piqued my interest. You know, there’s a wider world out there to explore.”
“I think my grandfather, and my father, both kind of having a deep passion and interest in this area for many years has sort of piqued my interest and my curiosity,” William continued.
The Duke went on to recall his childhood saying, “Growing up, I was surrounded by kind of this adventure and this idea of exploring and being out in the garden. I used to spend hours climbing trees, digging ditches and all sorts of things, hiding in dens and all sorts from the garden. So I used to love being out in the, sort of in the wild and the wet.”
Cate is a member of The Earthshot Prize Council, which is made up of individuals, including Queen Rania of Jordan and Shakira, who are committed to championing positive action in the environmental space. Prince William and The Royal Foundation launched The Earthshot Prize, the most prestigious global environment prize, in 2020. The inaugural Earthshot Prize Ceremony took place last October in London. The 2022 ceremony is scheduled to take place in the United States.
“It’s kind of all channeling and building up towards the end of this year. It’s going to be in the US. We haven’t quite decided where. A lot depends on where it goes,” William said on the Climate of Change podcast. “What I’d love to see, personally, is I’d like to see more women-led solutions, and more indigenous community-led solutions. But these next nine months we’ve got to really focus on is the scaling of the 2021 winners and finalists. That’s what’s really important to us. That’s I think the game-changing nature of what the Earthshot Prize is about.”
Cate told the Duke that it sounds like he is “quite hopeful that maybe we can imagine our way and plan our way and work our way out of what seems to be a crisis,” to which William replied, “Definitely. I think to coin [Earthshot Prize Council member] Christiana Figueres ’ phrase ‘stubborn optimist.’ I think is sort of where I’m feeling quite like I’m at the moment.”
He added, “She’s given me a lot of hope that this can happen, and I believe it. And I’m seeing it with my own eyes. It is really inspiring. It’s really hopeful. And I do believe we can make huge strides.”