Prince William's Earthshot Prize Is Returning to N.Y.C. for a Special Reason This Fall

Prince William's Earthshot Prize has saved the date for a key meeting in the U.S.

Prince William's Earthshot Prize is returning stateside!

On July 30, the Earthshot Prize and Bloomberg Philanthropies announced that they will co-host the third annual Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit on Sept. 24 in New York City. The Prince of Wales, 42, launched the contest in 2020 to promote impactful approaches to the world's most pressing environmental challenges, with plans to award $1 million Earthshot Prizes in five flagship categories annually until 2030.

It remains uncertain whether Prince William will attend the event this year as he in 2023. The late September date falls after his children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis return to school following the summer holidays. Additionally, no expectations have been set for Kate Middleton's return to public work as she continues cancer treatment.

Continuing tradition, the cohort of 15 finalists for the next Earthshot Prize will be revealed at the meeting. It was previously confirmed that the awards ceremony for the fourth cycle of Prince William's prestigious environmental prize will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in November, setting the stage for the news to be a highlight of the summit. 

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"This year’s Earthshot Prize Finalists embody the spirit of creativity and possibility we need to confront climate change and build a bright future, and this summit is a chance to shine a spotlight on the inspiring projects they’re leading," Michael Bloomberg, global advisor to the winners of the Earthshot Prize, said in a statement. "We’re looking forward to working with Prince William and the Earthshot team to support the finalists so that their ideas can scale up, spread, and have the greatest impact possible."

The Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit follows the inaugural Earthshot Prize Innovation Camp during London Climate Action Week in late June, where Prince William caught up with the founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, who hosted the glam third annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in Singapore in November 2023.

Last year, King Charles' eldest son made a solo trip across the pond for the Earthshot summit in September 2023, revealing at the meeting that he went for a secret run in Central Park that morning!

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"I decided to join the hordes of New Yorkers doing their morning routine," he said on stage at the Plaza Hotel in conversation with previous prize winner Vaitea Cowan. Prince William mentioned that it was "wonderful to be back" in New York, referencing his royal tour with Princess Kate in 2014.

The Prince of Wales canceled his trip to the first Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit in New York City in September 2022 following the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth. He appeared via video, and said the late matriarch would be proud of the Earthshot cohort's work to restore the planet.

"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," he said in a message.

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The upcoming Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit coincides with Climate Week NYC and the next session of the UN General Assembly. The meeting will convene Earthshot changemakers, investors, philanthropists and more to look back at the accomplishments of the 2023 Earthshot finalists, who continue to benefit from the network as they scale solutions for a brighter future, and double as a catchup on the latest from the Earthshot Prize to help accelerate environmental innovation.

Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's Moonshot mission in 1962, Prince William launched the Earthshot Prize in October 2020 to incentivize change and help repair the planet over the next decade. Following a global search, five winners are selected from a pool of finalists across the categories Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Ocean, Build a Waste-Free World, and Fix Our Climate, receiving $1 million in prize money, access to a prestigious professional network and support to scale their projects to create change.

Prince William and Princess Kate attended the inaugural awards in London together in 2021, and traveled to the U.S. for the second cycle in Boston, the birthplace of the late President Kennedy, in 2022.

Earthshot Prize CEO Hannah Jones previously told PEOPLE that the Prince of Wales "really cares" about all the finalists and ensuring that they have the support they need to succeed.

"The big thing that drives him is the finalists," Jones told PEOPLE. "There's not a conversation where the first thing isn't, 'But how are they doing? Are they okay? Are you looking after them? Are you making sure that they're being successful?' "

"I love that about him. He's really focused on them and making sure that the gift of this platform is one that really helps them move into being exponential in their impact in the world," she added. 

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