Mike Bloomberg opened the 2024 Earthshot Prize Summit in NYC by acknowledging the current climate crisis, marked by devastating natural disasters, and then he swiftly shifted the focus to a message of hope and opportunity.
"Climate change isn't only the biggest challenge we face. It is also our greatest opportunity to build a better, healthier and more prosperous future," said the founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Prince William, founder and president of The Earthshot Prize, emphasized the need to "speed the solutions to scale." The 15 finalists, who are pursuing a $1.3 million prize to scale their ventures, will be announced at a gala in Cape Town, South Africa, on Nov. 6.
Summit panelists highlighted the urgency of scaling climate solutions quickly by addressing barriers such as:
- Financial risk aversion
- Lack of infrastructure
- Insufficient investment
- Policy and regulatory challenges
- Limited access to global markets
Systemic Changes
Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, stressed the importance of systemic changes. He announced an upcoming "net zero data public utility" that will provide free access to comparable climate and emission data from companies and financial institutions by the end of next year.
Innovative Water Solutions
Matt Damon and Gary White, co-founders of Water.org and Water Equity, shared their journey from traditional charity models to innovative microfinance solutions for water access. Their project has reached 69 million people with 13 million loans and a 98% repayment rate.
White challenged conventional wisdom about poverty alleviation, stating, "We don't see people living in poverty necessarily as a charity problem to be solved as much as a market to be served."
Investment in Africa
Masai Ujiri, Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors and Co-founder of Giants of Africa, highlighted Africa's rapid growth and called for increased investment in women and youth, particularly on the African continent.
Policy and Action Items
Former New Zealand Prime Minister and Earthshot Prize Trustee Jacinda Ardern emphasized tracking "the speed at which we remove fossil fuel subsidies." She noted that while politicians can change rules to speed up or slow down implementation, "every single person in this room, regardless of how fast governments are moving, can still make a difference."
Hannah Jones, CEO of the Earthshot Prize, called for:
- Corporate investment in supply chain solutions
- Adapting market systems to reward innovators
- New forms of blended capital to scale game-changing ideas
In her summit closing, Jones delivered an inspiring speech recognizing climate pioneers, including 15 new Earthshot finalists and 45 past winners and finalists. She highlighted the global reach of the initiative, with nominations from over 167 countries representing diverse solutions.
Jones concluded by acknowledging the challenges of "world building" while emphasizing the potential for positive change: "We all see the hurdles and the frustrations and the inertia and the roadblocks. World building is slow and painful, and yes, we are running out of time. But as our amazing Chair, Christiana Figueres, wisely asks, we can all imagine the exponential bad, but can we also imagine what exponential good looks like."
