Prince William has unveiled the new Chair of the Earthshot Prize (Image: Getty)

Prince William has said he is “delighted” to welcome Jesper Brodin as the new Chair of the Board of The Earthshot Prize and looks forward to working with the former IKEA CEO. It comes as the outgoing chair, Christiana Figueres, moves onto the Prize Council, which each year selects five exceptional winners from 15 Finalists.

The Prince, who is founder and President of the Earthshot Prize, said in a statement: “I am deeply grateful to Christiana for her outstanding leadership, unrivalled expertise and unrelenting optimism in inspiring action. The Earthshot Prize embodies these values, and Christiana has played a pivotal role in shaping the Prize and championing the solutions of our Finalists.

“I am delighted to welcome Jesper as our new Chair. Jesper has shown how business can drive prosperity for our planet, which will be invaluable to our Earthshot community. I look forward to working closely with Jesper to accelerate the bold solutions that will repair our planet.”

The switch-up of employees comes just weeks after it was announced that Mumbai, India, would host the 2026 Earthshot Prize.

It marks the midway point of The Earthshot Prize’s 10-year mission to scale bold solutions to repair our planet.

The annual Prize has already backed 75 Finalists, awarded £25m, and helped mobilise more than £370m (US$500m) in follow‑on investment.

Jesper Brodin, commented: “We are at a pivotal time when it comes to climate action and it is a privilege and an honor to join The Earthshot Prize, which is unique in its position to connect environmental leaders, innovators, governments and business to create impact at scale.

“While many of the solutions are out there – I can’t wait to work with the Earthshot community to see how we together can accelerate implementation with speed. The clock is ticking, and we need action now, to be able to deliver by 2030.”

Mr Brodin’s three-year term as Chair of The Earthshot Prize Board starts from 1 March 2026.