Prince William welcomes global leaders as Keir Starmer heads to Earthshot Prize

Prince William is ready to go green.

“Together, we can tackle the planet’s greatest challenges,” Prince William recently said, as the countdown begins for the 2025 Earthshot Prize in Rio de Janeiro. 

Among the VIPs flying in for the prestigious awards is none other than Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who will join a star studded line up to celebrate solutions for the planet.

The Earthshot Prize ceremony on November 5th promises to be a glittering gathering, with judges including Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, Queen Rania of Jordan, Cate Blanchett, and Sir David Attenborough. 

Starmer is expected to attend the awards before heading north to Belem for the COP30 global climate summit, near the mouth of the Amazon, underscoring the UK’s ambition to reassert itself as a global leader in climate action and green growth.

The move comes as part of his pledge to restore Britain’s reputation as “a global leader for climate action and green growth.”

Downing Street insists the trip is more than political theatre, Keir's spokesman called net zero “the economic opportunity of the 21st century,” capable of creating “good jobs for the future.” 

But the decision follows a swirl of controversy: reports earlier this month suggested the PM might skip the summit altogether, prompting the Liberal Democrats to brand him a hypocrite for previously criticising Rishi Sunak over the same issue back in 2022.