Prince William has announced 15 finalists in the running to win a £1million environmental award.

The Earthshot Prize, founded by the Prince of Wales in 2010, recognises innovative solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges.

Finalists include creators of an earthquake-resilient brick made with 75 percent lower carbon emissions than traditional clay-fired bricks, an organisation that has saved saiga antelopes from extinction and a company that has converted crop waste into a leather alternative.

William described the people on the shortlist for the prize as “leading the way in solving some of the most urgent environmental challenges”.

“Today, we celebrate the incredible achievement, unwavering dedication and urgent optimism that drives our fourth class of Earthshot innovators,” he said.

“The passion of these Finalists is a testament to what can be achieved when we tap into the enormous creativity, ingenuity, and optimism of communities around the world.”

The 15 finalists were unveiled at the 2024 Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit during Climate Week in New York.

Billionaire and global advisor to Earthshot Prize winners, Michael Bloomberg, addressed the event but William did not attend in person due to other commitments in the UK.

The prince attended the summit in 2023, but not the year before.

It comes as his estranged brother Prince Harry is currently in New York supporting his patronages and issues he cares deeply about it. He arrived in the Big Apple on Sunday for his whirlwind solo visit.

Earthshot has five categories: protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world, and fix our climate.

This year’s finalists were selected from nearly 2,500 nominations spanning 139 countries – the largest-ever nomination pool.

The 15 Finalists hail from six continents and include several firsts for The Prize, including the first Finalists from France, Ghana, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Nepal.

They will all receive support from The Earthshot Prize Fellowship Program, and the winners will get £1 million to help expand their project.

The five winners of the award will be announced at the Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa on November 6.

Build Up Nepal is a social enterprise that has developed a brick with 75 percent lower carbon emissions compared to traditional clay-fired bricks.

Homes built with these bricks are affordable and have been proven to withstand earthquakes.

An organisation in Kazakhstan, Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, has managed to restore saiga antelope numbers from a low of 20,000 to over 2.8 million.

Their work in preventing the animal from extinction is one of the greatest nature restoration successes ever recorded.

Other finalists include MYCL in Indonesia which takes crop waste and uses a mushroom base to convert it into a leather alternative and British company MiAlgae which uses by-products from whisky distillation to produce microalgae, rich in marine Omega-3s.