José Andrés, Bill Gates, JFK’s daughter and more to join Prince William in NYC

The  Prince of Wales  will be joined by policymakers, global business leaders and philanthropists at the upcoming Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit. One week before the event, the Earthshot Prize and Bloomberg Philanthropies revealed individuals who will be addressing summit attendees. In addition to Prince William, this year’s lineup of speakers includes Michael R. Bloomberg,  José Andrés , Jacinda Ardern,  Bill Gates , Nomzamo Mbatha, as well as Earthshot Prize finalists and winners.

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The second summit, hosted by The Earthshot Prize and Bloomberg Philanthropies on Sept. 19, will also be attended by Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Australia, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Emily Chang, the host and executive producer of Bloomberg Originals, Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, and Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal.

The finalists for the 2023 Earthshot Prize will be unveiled at the upcoming summit, which is being held at New York’s Plaza Hotel during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The event will kick off the countdown to the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards. The third annual awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in Singapore on Nov. 7.

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Prince William, who launched the prestigious global environment prize in 2020, was due to attend last year’s summit in New York City, but did not following the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. While he was not in attendance, the future King recorded a video message, saying: “Although it is the saddest of circumstances that means I cannot join you in person today, I am pleased to be able to join you in video form as you gather in New York for the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit.”

King Charles’ firstborn said that during “this time of grief, I take great comfort in your continued enthusiasm, optimism and commitment to the Earthshot Prize and what we are trying to achieve. Protecting the environment was a cause close to my grandmother’s heart, and I know she would have been delighted to hear about this event and the support you’re all giving our Earthshot finalists, the next generation of environmental pioneers.”