Prince William is looking ahead to the next year of taking his environmental mission, The Earthshot Prize, around the world.
The Prince of Wales, 42, is looking forward to “playing a role” at the next big climate control meeting in Brazil, PEOPLE understands.
His attendance at the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference — known in shorthand as COP30, and scheduled for mid-November 2025 —would be the latest stage of his increasing role as a world statesman. In doing so, Prince William would follow in the footsteps of his father King Charles, who has attended — and spoken at — climate conferences several times.
The next venue for William’s Earthshot Prize Awards — the fifth iteration of the 10 ceremonies expected — has yet to be announced, but it is widely expected to be in South America.
Conveniently, the Earthshot Prize Awards typically fall within the first weeks of November, setting the Prince of Wales up to potentially attend COP30, which runs from Nov. 10 to 21.
So far, each of the previous four Earthshot Prize Awards have taken place on a different continent — Europe in 2021, when the inaugural awards took place in London; North America in 2022, as he took the awards to Boston; Asia in 2023, with a stop in Singapore; and Africa in 2024, as he just wrapped up his visit to Cape Town on Nov. 7.
Prince William has spoken about wanting to take the Earthshot Prize Awards to South America, as well as China and India.
Prince William and his aides are focused on what they call the Earthshot decade, which continues “between now and 2030.”
“His commitment to restoring the future of the planet is unwavering, and the prince is determined to do all he can to use his platform to spread urgent optimism,” a royal source says.
“Next year, the Climate COP will take place in Brazil, and it’s set to be hugely consequential. The Prince of Wales is looking forward to playing a role there,” the source continues.
When COP was held in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021, William led a delegation there and hosted a reception for Earthshot finalists.
His father King Charles attended COP in 2023, but was asked the previous year not to take up a place there in the early days of his reign, which began on Sept. 8, 2022 after the death of Queen Elizabeth.
The reason given was the government — to which the King has to remain loyal and only act on their advice – didn’t think he should attend so early in his reign, as, at the time, he had only been on the throne for two months. Reports at the time suggested that Charles, a longtime conservationist, had been unhappy that he was not allowed to attend, The Guardian reported.
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Of his time in South Africa, which ran from Monday, Nov. 4 to Thursday, Nov. 7, Prince William spoke warmly of the continent, saying on the green carpet at the Earthshot Prize Awards, “Africa’s been a big part of my life since I’ve been a young boy, since I first came to Africa. I felt really connected to the place spiritually and kind of from an environmental and people point. And every time I come here I get a warm welcome.”
“Every time I come here I can be myself and get away from all the stuff that happens in my normal life. And so it’s a really special place, a home from home for me,” he said.
Source: People
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