Jack Ma, Yao Ming join Prince William on project
2020-10-14
CBA chairman Yao Ming. [Photo/Agencies]
Alibaba founder 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 Chinese philanthropist, entrepreneur and UNSDG Advocate Jack Ma and Yao Ming, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and environmentalist.
Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group. [Photo/VCG]
"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," he added.
Alibaba founder Ma 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, the Japanese former astronaut onboard the International Space Station.
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."
Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, speaks during a visit to the Garden House, part of the Light Project, which works on getting people safely off the streets throughout the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Peterborough, Britain, July 16, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
"It's a great source of hope, and I hope it spreads around the world."
The Earthshot Prize, which is inspired from United Sates President John F. Kennedy's Moonshot program, is centered around five Earthshots, 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, teams or collaborations including scientists, activists, economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities and countries.
Each winner will receive a one-million-pound ($1.3 million) reward that will be used to support agreed environmental and conservation projects as well as large-scale public recognition and significant support to scale their solution.
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