Bangladeshi company among 15 finalists of The Earthshot Prize 2021

A Bangladeshi company has been named among the 15 shortlisted firms for Prince William's Earthshot environmental prize.

SOLbazaar, an energy-tech company, is one of the three finalists for the prize in "Fix Our Climate" category. It is the world's first peer-to-peer energy exchange network.

Fifteen finalists were on Friday named on the shortlist for Prince William's Earthshot environmental prize to reward innovative solutions to the planet's biggest problems.

Each of the finalists has a chance of winning £1million to support their innovative environmental solutions to the greatest challenges facing the planet.  

Prince William said: "Over half a century ago, President Kennedy's 'Moonshot' programme united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon. Inspired by this, The Earthshot Prize aims to mobilise collective action around our unique ability to innovate, problem solve and repair our planet. 

"I am honoured to introduce the 15 innovators, leaders, and visionaries who are the first ever finalists for The Earthshot Prize. They are working with the urgency required in this decisive decade for life on Earth and will inspire all of us with their optimism in our ability to  rise to the greatest challenges in human history." 

Launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in October 2020, The Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious global environment prize in history. Like President John F Kennedy's 'Moonshot' did almost 60 years ago, the Prize aims to unleash an unprecedented wave of innovation and leadership to tackle the challenges posed by climate change and the  threats to our oceans, air, and land. 

The Prize is an urgent call to action to the world and aims to turn the current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism, by championing inspiring leadership and helping to scale incredible cutting-edge solutions. It will discover 50 winners over 10 years with the power to repair the planet. 

A truly global project, The Earthshot Prize has been developed by The Royal Foundation, which convened a diverse nominator coalition of more than 200 people and organizations around the world from every continent, a distinguished Expert Advisory Panel, and The Earthshot Prize Council comprising influential individuals committed to championing positive environmental action.  

Five of these 15 finalists announced on Friday will be awarded The Earthshot Prize and will win  £1million in Prize funding for the best solutions of the five Earthshot goals: Protect and  Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-free World; and Fix  our Climate. The Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony on 17th October from London's Alexandra Palace, broadcast in the UK on BBC One and globally on Discovery.  

The inaugural 15 finalists were assessed by the Expert Advisory Panel of scientific, academic, and subject-matter leaders. Each of the Finalist's solutions excelled in the rigorous screening process and were assessed on their potential to create game-changing impact around the world, their ability to help us reach our Earthshot goals while also positively impacting people, communities and the natural world.