Key Chinese figures join UK prince on green project

Alibaba founder Ma Yun, commonly known as Jack Ma, and Chinese basketball star Yao Ming will be joining Britain's Prince William as members of the prestigious Earthshot Prize Council with the goal of protecting and restoring the environment.

Last week, the Duke of Cambridge announced that 50 million pounds ($64 million) will be awarded over the next 10 years in the "most prestigious global environmental prize in history" with the hope it will incentivize change and help repair the planet.

A global team of high-profile leaders from the environmental, philanthropic, business, sporting and entertainment worlds have joined Prince William as members of the Earthshot Prize Council.

The council includes Ma, a philanthropist, entrepreneur and UNSDG Advocate, and Yao, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and environmentalist.

"We have to have the confidence to make this change," Yao said. "Regardless of the impact our actions have had upon the natural world, I believe that with enough desire and optimism, we can reverse this and repair our planet."

Ma, a supporter of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, said: "We only have one Earth in this world and the pandemic has made it clear that mankind cannot live without the Earth, but that Earth can live without mankind. Today we all live in the same forest that is already on fire. If we work together, we can all do a little bit today, and overcome our challenges."

The Earthshot Prize council also includes British broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough, Australian actor Cate Blanchett and Naoko Yamazaki, a Japanese former astronaut who spent time on the International Space Station.

'Great source of hope'

Attenborough said: "I really do think things are about to start to move, and this sort of idea could be the spark that is really going to give it the lift and the impetus to develop into something huge."

"It's a great source of hope, and I hope it spreads around the world."

The Earthshot Prize, which is inspired from the late United States president John F. Kennedy's Moonshot program, is centered around five Earthshots which are simple but ambitious goals for the planet.

The five Earthshot categories are protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world, and fix our climate.

Prizes could be awarded to a wide range of individuals and collaborators. They include scientists, activists, economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities and countries.

Each winner will receive a 1 million pound reward that will be used to support environmental and conservation projects as well as boost public recognition of their cause.