Prince William has issued an urgent plea for action against climate change to be sped up as "we no longer have time for inch-by-inch improvements".
The Prince of Wales stressed the need for "urgent optimism" when it comes to the climate ahead of this year's Earthshot Prize Awards. In November, the city of Mumbai, India will host the sixth edition of William's 10-year project to recognise and reward ideas to help save the planet.
The prince said a summer of "devastating" wildfires across Britain served as a "powerful reminder of the risks associated with a warming climate".
Warmest summer on record
Provisional figures from the Met Office showed the summer of 2026 was the warmest in the UK since records began in 1884, with the average temperature sitting at 16.5C. Multiple heatwaves led to wildfires which caused an estimated 2,877 deaths in England, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
While William called the summer conditions "alarming", he said he believes that "urgent optimism" could craft a way forward for humanity.
Writing in the Independent, he said: "The crisis demands urgency. But without a belief that change is possible, its scale can leave us feeling overwhelmed. Optimism gives us confidence that our actions can make a difference. We need both."
"This is what I mean by urgent optimism; seeing the danger clearly while believing in our ability to respond."
Solutions already working
The prince continued: "For the first time in history, our greatest challenge is not inventing the answers. It is deploying and scaling the solutions we already know work. It is not naivety or blind hope. It is optimism grounded in evidence."
He added: "I have seen solutions already working and the impact they are capable of. That gives me optimism. Knowing that we no longer have time for inch-by-inch improvements, that change must be systemic and at scale, gives me urgency."
William highlighted the efforts of previous Earthshot finalists, who "have already helped avoid or capture 18 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions, protected and restored over 85 million hectares of ocean and coastline and improved air quality in regions home to 600 million people".
"Wildfires have captured the world's attention, but work to reduce their risk and limit their impact is already underway – as are solutions to clean our air, fix our climate, revive our oceans, eliminate waste and restore nature," he wrote. "We can, and must, make the remainder of this decade count."
Earthshot Prize in Mumbai
Previous Earthshot events have been staged in London, Singapore, Cape Town, Boston and Rio de Janeiro. It is understood that the Princess of Wales could join William on the trip to India later this year. She last attended the Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston in 2022.
Awards are presented in five categories, or Earthshots – Protect and restore nature; Clean our air, Revive our oceans; Build a waste-free world; and Fix our climate.
