The inaugural Earthshot prizes were presented by Prince William on Sunday (October 18) in London. One of the five winners was the project from India – an agricultural waste recycling initiative by a Delhi entrepreneur, Vidyut Mohan – which received a million pounds ($1.4 million) as award in the Clean Our Air category.
Takachar, a firm co-founded by Mohan that is dedicated to fighting climate change, has led an initiative to fight the serious health issues emanating from air pollution created by the burning of agricultural waste in the Capital and its adjoining areas.
The company has created a small-scale, portable and affordable technology that can be attached to tractors and this in turn will help in converting crop residue into bio-products like fuel and fertiliser which can be sold.
The Earthshot prize analyst’s note stated: “Takachar’s technology reduces smoke emissions by up to 98 per cent which will help improve the air quality that currently reduces the affected population’s life expectancy by up to five years. If scaled, it could cut a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year: a win for India’s farmers will be a win in the fight against climate change.”
These new annual awards have come into being to reward efforts to save the planet in the face of climate change and global warming. The other four winners are, Republic of Costa Rica in the Protect and Restore Nature category for restoring natural ecosystems; Coral Vita Bahamas in Revive Our Ocean category for growing corals; in the Build a Waste-Free World category, city of Milan for collecting unused food and distributing it; and AEM Electrolyser for using renewable energy to make hydrogen by splitting water.
The winners chosen by experts from more than 750 nominations will be given help from companies to develop their projects.
The Prince hoped that these awards will help to fight against climate change leading up to the COP26 summit, which opens in Scotland at the end of the month.
Also read: School girl and climate activist from India figure in finalists for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize
