Skip to main content

Jacinda Ardern joins The Earthshot Prize as a Trustee

Jacinda Ardern joins The Earthshot Prize as Trustee

Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, is joining the Board of Trustees of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize.

Her commitment to sustainable development and climate action as Prime Minister of New Zealand strongly align with the optimistic ambition of The Earthshot Prize and its efforts to protect and restore our planet by 2030.

Speaking about the appointment, Prince William said:

“It is an honour to welcome Jacinda to The Earthshot Prize team. Her life-long commitment to supporting sustainable and environmental solutions, along with her experience as Prime Minister of New Zealand, will bring a rich infusion of new thinking to our mission.

“Four years ago, before The Earthshot Prize even had a name, Jacinda was one of the first people I spoke to, and her encouragement and advice was crucial to the Prize’s early success. I am hugely grateful to her for joining us as she takes the next steps in her career.”

Jacinda Ardern said:

“I am humbled and excited to be working with the Earthshot team. Since its inception, I’ve believed Earthshot’s power to encourage and spread not only the innovation we desperately need, but also optimism. Solutions are within our reach if we invest, support and accelerate them globally.”

In September 2022, Ms. Ardern attended The Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit in New York where she spoke on behalf of Prince William as he remained in the UK following the passing of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

She offered powerful remarks on the critical need for innovation to positively alter the course of our environmental trajectory and called on political leaders and the private sector to support and invest in solutions.

 

The Earthshot Prize Board of Trustees seeks to bring independent, diverse and expert perspectives to guide and oversee The Earthshot Prize as it continues to scale and achieve its ambition to repair and regenerate the planet.

Christiana Figueres, Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Earthshot Prize, said:

“I have long-been inspired by Jacinda’s work as a catalysing force in the effort to combat climate change. She is a tremendous champion of environmental innovation, and her perspective, experience and guidance will no-doubt make a powerful impact on the entire Earthshot Prize organisation. My fellow Trustees and I are thrilled to welcome Jacinda in her new role.”

Ms. Ardern joins a distinguished group of Trustees including:

  • Christiana Figueres, Chair of the Board and a Member of The Earthshot Prize Council since 2020. She is the co-founder of Global Optimism and former UN Climate Chief responsible for the delivery of the landmark Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015.
  • David Fein, Vice Chair and Special Counsel at Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. He has a long history of working with The Duke of Cambridge and The Royal Foundation as Chair of The Royal Foundation’s United for Wildlife Financial Taskforce.
  • Tokunboh Ishamael, Founding Trustee and co-founder and Managing Director of Alitheia Capital, a pioneer ESG and Impact Investing Fund Management firm.
  • M Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International, an environmental non-profit dedicated to protecting the nature humanity needs, which has been a supportive Global Alliance Partner since The Earthshot Prize launched in 2020.
  • Jason Knauf, Global Leadership Fellow at Conservation International who has worked on the Prize since its conception in his former role as CEO of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
  • Zoë Ware, former Assistant Private Secretary to The Duke of Cambridge, who oversaw the creation of The Earthshot Prize from Kensington Palace and now works for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
  • Jean-Christophe Gray, in an ex-officio role as the Private Secretary to The Prince of Wales.
The Earthshot Prize