Prince William and UAE companies work together to repair the planet

The British royal and big companies in the Emirates are on a mission to raise the bar on environmental responsibility

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive at the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony at Alexandra Palace, London on October 17. Reuters

Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge wore an Alexander McQueen dress that she was previously seen in at the Bafta Brits to Watch event in Los Angeles on July 9, 2011 (left). Getty Images

The royals are seen in the audience during the Earthshot Prize ceremony. Getty Images

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive for the first Earthshot Prize awards. Reuters

The ceremony was held at Alexandra Palace in London. Reuters

The Duchess of Cambridge wore her hair to the side, with sparking drop earrings. Reuters

Live updates: follow the latest news on Prince William's visit to the UAE

Britain's Prince William and companies in the UAE are working together to protect flora and fauna, while fighting climate change to protect the environment for future generations.

The British royal will arrive in the Emirates on his first official visit on Thursday to promote ties between the two countries.

His itinerary includes attending events that will highlight his work done with UAE companies to protect the mangroves, the fight against the smuggling of animals, and a visit to Expo Dubai 2020 to discuss extraordinary solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges.

The Duke of Cambridge has been working with UAE companies to help repair the planet. Here are some of his big ventures with organisations in the Emirates.

Earthshot Prize with DP World and Expo 2020

In October 2020, the prince launched Earthshot Prize, a £50 million ($64.6m) drive to find the best visionary climate change projects that can help to save the planet.

DP World in partnership with Dubai Expo 2020 is among the founding partners of the Earthshot Prize.

The initiative has a 10-year plan designed to clean up the Earth by 2030.

The scheme is inspired by former US president John F Kennedy’s "Moonshot" vision in the 1960s, which resulted in the Americans putting men on the Moon, thus winning the Cold War space race against the Soviet Union.

The Earthshots award £1m to each of five projects for the next 10 years, making it the world’s most high-profile accolade for fighting climate change.

The best ideas are adjudged by nominators from around the world in five categories: protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.

UK 'national day' at Expo 2020 Dubai - in pictures

The first five winners were announced in October 2021 and included cutting-edge technologists, innovators, an entire country, and a pioneering city.

Nominations are open for the Earthshot Prize 2022 and it is looking for great eco-innovators around the world who have breakthrough solutions to the most pressing environmental problems.

In its second year, the prize has expanded its network of nominators, with more than 300 organisations from more than 80 countries, representing not for profit, foundation, investment, corporate, academic, government and community-led organisations, which will search their expert networks and communities to find ground-breaking eco-solutions that can repair and regenerate the planet.

Nominators have until March 4, 2022, to submit entries. This year, the prize is seeking nominations from these areas: personal transport, regenerative agriculture, future-fit buildings, and extending the life of fashion, food, and plastic products.

It will prioritise indigenous, and women-led solutions, Web3.0-enabled solutions, nominations that unlock new financial models that value nature, and finally, wild cards – the out-of-the-box, blue-sky solutions that have transformative impact potential.

United for Wildlife with DP World, Emirates and Etihad

United for Wildlife was founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2014 to facilitate collaboration between the transport sector, finance sector and law enforcement to prevent wildlife trafficking around the world.

The initiative includes 11 commitments to prevent illegal wildlife smuggling, a trade worth $150 billion. It encourages the transport industry to help shut down the routes exploited by wildlife traffickers.

It has grown from 12 private sector companies in 2016 to more than 250 global partnerships, representing large corporations in the shipping, airline and financial industries.

UAE's DP World, Emirates, and Etihad Airways are a part of the task force led by United for Wildlife to tackle the illicit wildlife trade and protect endangered species.

In 2016, Emirates took to the skies to spread the message against the illegal wildlife trade. Its A380s emblazoned with special livery in support of United for Wildlife helped to create awareness.

As of May 10, 2019, 61 airlines that are members of the International Air Transport Association, supported Prince Willaim's project.

Protecting the mangroves

It is expected that the Duke of Cambridge will visit Abu Dhabi’s wetlands at the Jubail Mangrove Park to highlight the importance of protecting and restoring mangrove biodiversity.

The UAE is committed to expanding its mangrove cover and at Cop26 in Glasgow promised to plant 100 million mangroves by 2030.

The Emirates is already home to 60 million mangroves that form forests that cover 183 square kilometres and capture 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

Planting 100 million mangroves will increase the coverage to 483 square kilometres, with the forests able to capture about 115,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Prince William and Kate Middleton at Cop26 – in pictures