Prince William reflects on ‘hope and optimism’ as he introduces his new documentary The Earthshot Report showcasing his environmental work

Prince William will introduce a new documentary, The Earthshot Report, which will premiere tonight on BBC One at 5pm.

The documentary, which showcases environmental solutions that have been spotlighted and supported by the royal’s Earthshot Prize, will later be shown on PBS at 8pm ET on December 18.

Emmy award-winning actress and ‘good friend of the Earthshot Prize’ Hannah Waddingham will host the documentary, which will ‘explore the inspiring stories of environmental innovators working to deliver solutions which have the power to protect and restore our planet for future generations’.

In his introduction filmed in a forest, William, 42, reminds viewers that the Earthshot Prize ‘was launched in 2021 to spotlight and support people from across the world who are coming up with ground-breaking innovations to help prepare our planet.’

The Prince of Wales, who is dressed in a casual blue jacket, adds: ‘They are just a sample of a new wave of inventors, doers and thinkers who are enabling us to feel hope and optimism, despite the negative forecasts.

‘Now, in 2024, individuals, communities and nations are innovating like never before.

‘More and more people are joining the journey to protect the future of our planet.’

The Earthshot Report, he continues, brings together ‘previous finalists’ to see ‘how their ideas are scaling up’.

In addition, it will explore ‘some of the game-changing solutions, exciting new trends and global breakthroughs of 2024’. 

Earthshot Prize innovators each tackle one of five environmental goals: Fix Our Climate, Protect and Restore Nature, Build A Waste-Free World, Revive Our Oceans, and Clean Our Air. 

Among the social entrepreneurs to feature in the documentary is Charlot Magayi, from Mukuru in Nairobi, Kenya, who is the founder and chief executive officer of Mukuru Clean Stoves.

Charlot was initially focused on making a safer stove that would limit the risks of burns in children.

But, when she started to research, she discovered that household air pollution and the high cost of fuel were two of the greatest problems facing her community.

Charlot went back to the drawing board and modified her original plan, designing a stove that would tackle all three issues.

Made with recycled metal and an insulated ceramic centre, the stove helps food to cook at a faster rate.

Moreover, it is also more efficient when it comes to burning fuel, using around 50 per cent less fuel than a regular cook stove.

In turn, ‘it can help reduce air pollution by up to 90 per cent,’ as Hannah Waddingham’s voiceover explains. 

Priced at just $10, they’re also cheaper and, according to Charlot, they’ve managed to enable households to save over $50 million in fuel consumption costs. 

Mukura Clean Stoves partners with female business owners in the community.

‘We work with the most vibrant women, the women in the community who are very outspoken,’ Charlot adds. 

These are the women who not only understand that communities need to be educated but are ‘excited about bringing solutions.’  

The women who sell the stoves earn ten per cent commission, too.

Charlot concludes: ‘For every community that we enter, we need to ensure that we leave it better than the way we found it – and the best way to do that is to work with the women in that community.’

The Earthshot Report is geographically wide-ranging and also features social entrepreneurs developing solutions in the United States, Ecuador, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

‘At a time when there is so much pessimism about the environment, The Earthshot Report is the dose of urgent optimism we need,’ said Hannah Jones, CEO of The Earthshot Prize. 

She added: ‘We are proud to be able to amplify the inspiring stories of Earthshot innovators and showcase the growing global movement of climate creativity they are leading. 

‘We are honored to collaborate with the BBC and PBS to bring these compelling stories of Earthshot innovators and entrepreneurs to millions of people across the globe.’ 

William founded the prize to recognise and scale up ideas to help ‘repair’ the planet, with five winning finalists each awarded £1 million to develop their ideas further. 

The Earthshot Report this evening comes after the Prince said he hopes his children are ‘proud’ of his Earthshot Prize ahead of the glitzy environmental awards ceremony in Cape Town last month.

The royal said he hoped Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and his wife the Princess of Wales would be watching back home.

William was speaking to the BBC and Sky News as he prepared to host his fourth annual Earthshot Awards designed to highlight and scale up the best solutions on the planet to the current environmental crisis.

He also said Kate was ‘doing really well, paying tribute to how she had been ‘amazing’ during her tough year of cancer treatment.

‘She’s doing really well thanks. And… hopefully she is watching tonight. So cheering me on. She’s been she’s been amazing this whole this whole year. I know she will be really keen to see tonight be a success,’ he said.

William said that he and his family, like so many, have conversations about trying to ‘do what they can’ at home.

The prince said: ‘Yeah, well, you know, every family tries to do what they can to sort of help with the environment.

‘We go through all the basics of recycling and making sure we minimise water use and turning off lights when we leave the house and stuff like that.’

He added: ‘I think every family has these conversations. You just try to do what you can. ‘

‘The Earthshot Prize has got to be a bit more global than that. We are trying to do big scale ambition and big scale business to tackle some of the solutions.’