Prince William will attend Cop30 in Brazil next year as he is “determined to do all he can to use his platform to spread urgent optimism” about the climate crisis.
William, who has just returned home from a four-day trip to Cape Town for his Earthshot prize, is “looking foward to playing a role” at the annual climate conference.
A royal source said: “This week, the Prince of Wales visited South Africa to spotlight African innovation and young people, as Earthshot hosted its fourth annual awards in Cape Town.
“Throughout his trip, the Prince spoke about the importance of not losing sight of what needs to be done between now and 2030 – the Earthshot decade.
“His commitment to restoring the future of the planet is unwavering and the Prince is determined to do all he can to use his platform to spread urgent optimism.
“Next year, the Climate COP will take place in Brazil and it’s set to be hugely consequential. The Prince of Wales is looking forward to playing a role there.”
COP30 will be held in Rio from November 10-21 and William is expected to head there straight from his fifth Earthshot prize awards ceremony.
The location of the glitzy event is yet to be revealed but it is widely expected that Earthshot’s 2025 awards will also be held in South America.
William has spoken previously about wanting to take the awards to every corner of the planet and mentioned China, India and South America as key locations.
London, Boston, Singapore and Cape Town have already hosted the annual Earthshot awards ceremony.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attended COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 where the then Prince Charles delivered a rallying speech to world leaders. He told them a “war-like footing” was needed to tackle the climate crisis.
Willam hosted a reception for Earthshot finalists while he was there.
Next year, his global environmental prize will reach the halfway point as the ambitious project aims to find solutions to repair the planet by 2030.
In an interview with UK print media on his final engagement in South Africa on Thursday, William suggested that he would start ramping up his rhetoric about the award and the need to find urgent solutions to fix the planet.
Speaking about his Earthshot prize, he said: “I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made so far and at some point my language is going to have to to change,”
The prince spoke of his frustration that Government’s and businesses have been reluctant to get on board, despite Earthshot creating a platform to match investors with the climate solutions generated by the finalists.
“My message to businesses really is: hurry up and be courageous,” he said. “Invest faster because we just don’t have that time.”