SINGAPORE – Five winners have been named for this year’s Earthshot Prize, an environmental award founded by Britain’s Prince William. The annual award recognises exemplary projects that aim to solve major environmental issues such as creating a waste-free world, cleaning the air, fixing the climate, and reviving oceans. Each winner receives PS1 million (S$1.7 million) to scale up their solutions and help repair our ailing planet.

The winners were announced during a ceremony at Mediacorp Theatre on Tuesday. They were selected from a list of 15 finalists who submitted proposals in five categories. The finalists were chosen by a panel of 59 scientists and academics called the Earthshot Prize Advisory Council. They will receive the prizes at a ceremony next month. The winners will be given the opportunity to share their ideas with global leaders, businesses and investors.

This year’s winners were chosen based on the quality of their solutions and how scalable they are. Other criteria include the project’s impact and how it would contribute to a more sustainable future, as well as whether it is addressing a significant need in Singapore.

The five winners were picked out of more than 1,100 entries in English, Chinese and Malay. Clara Chow, who wrote ‘Magic Babe Ning Cai’ and won the fiction category in both English and Chinese, is the first writer to have her work shortlisted in two categories and both languages in the program’s history.

She was also the only author to have a work shortlisted in both the consumer choice and reader’s favorite categories. The other winners were ‘The Last Survivors of the Covid-19 Pandemic’ by Ali bin Salim, ‘Dryl Qilin Yam’, and ‘Pan Zheng Lei’.

Other notable shortlisted works include ‘Sudden Fall’ by Chang Cheh and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse Begins Again’ by Joanna Lumley. The program also incorporated a new “readers’ choice” category for the first time this year, which saw 4,000 readers vote on their favorite works.

Those who won the reader’s choice will get to choose a book that champions mindsets and values that are important to Singapore, such as equality, diversity, religious harmony and meritocracy, according to the judges. The prize was presented by SUSS.

This is the third time the prize has been awarded, but it’s the first time it has been held in Asia. It is also the first time that a foreign national has been named its recipient. The prince will be in Singapore from November 6 to 11, and is expected to participate in activities ranging from dragon boating to the United for Wildlife global summit. The trip is a solo one, as his wife Kate Middleton is staying home to support their eldest son, Prince George, in his school exams. He was welcomed by cheering crowds when he arrived at the airport on Sunday. He later tweeted: ‘Hello Singapore, great to be back after 11 years.’ He is due to meet the country’s president and visit The Istana palace, which has been renamed in his honour.