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Prince William says 'there’s no time to waste' in climate change battle

The Duke of Cambridge is calling for a decade of change

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Emily Nash
Emily Nash - London
Royal EditorLondon
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The Duke of Cambridge is calling on people to focus on a decade of change for the planet, telling TV viewers: "There’s no time to waste."

MORE: Prince William wants to help tackle climate change so he can 'look his children in the eye'

Prince William joins Sir David Attenborough and singer Shakira to present a new five-part docuseries on his Earthshot Prize, which explains the planet’s greatest environmental challenges and how we can fix them.

WATCH: Prince Williams launches The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet

In a clip from the first episode, he is pictured standing against the backdrop of a full moon on a Norfolk beach as he says: "This is a moment for hope, not fear. A better sustainable future is within reach, we just have to grasp for it.

"We humans can achieve anything we set our minds to. So let's all set our minds to this, a decade of action to repair our planet. There's no time to waste."

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Sir David and Shakira are members of the Global Prize Council, along with former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and football star Dani Alves, who also appear.

Sir David tells viewers: "Just imagine what might be possible."

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Sir David and William present a new five-part docuseries on the Earthshot Prize

Outlining his groundbreaking plan for the Earthshot Prize, the Duke explains: "Each year, until 2030, we will award five £1 million prizes to those who we believe can transform our chances of repairing our planet within a decade.

"Five prizes, because experts tell us there are five great challenges we must urgently overcome, to turn the tide. Over the next 10 years, we must work hard to protect and restore nature so that the wild stops shrinking and starts to grow.

"Fix our climate, to stop the rise in global temperature. Clean our air so that we can all breathe healthily. Revive our oceans to become as rich and productive as they once were. And we must build a waste free world by ensuring the waste of one process becomes the raw materials of the next."

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Winners included a 14-year-old girl from India

Taking inspiration from John F Kennedy’s Moonshot project which advanced mankind’s achievements, the prince named 15 finalists from across the globe earlier this month.

Winners included a 14-year-old girl from India who has designed a solar-powered ironing cart, the nation of Costa Rica, which has pioneered a project paying local citizens to restore natural ecosystems, and a Chinese app that allows its citizens to hold polluters to account.

The inaugural Earthshot Prize ceremony will take place at Alexandra Palace in London on October 17.

The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet starts on Sunday 3 October, 6.05pm, on BBC One. All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from Sunday 3 October.

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