Prince William arrived in an electric bus for the climate event

The Prince of Wales arrived in an electric bus for an event at London’s Guildhall on tackling climate change and protecting the environment.

On a very hot day, Prince William spoke to delegates, including the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, about the importance of helping to “repair” the planet.

Prince William has been touting the impact of his Earthshot award, saying the idea of ​​tackling environmental problems has left him feeling “more optimistic than ever”.

But when we have evidence of what works in protecting the environment, “history will ask what we did,” he said.

The Earthshot Prize is a 10-year initiative launched in 2020 to find new ways to save the planet and will award £1m in funding to five winners each year.

Now halfway through the journey, Prince William told the audience that there had been tangible achievements in the award-winning projects, including cutting 18 million tonnes of emissions and taking four million cars off the road.

85 million hectares of land, forests and rivers were “protected, restored and improved”.

Future plans include improving battery life for green energy storage, developing sustainable farming techniques for India’s changing climate, and tailoring dyes and pigments for the fashion industry.

Speakers praised the success of Khan’s administration in London in showing how a major city can reduce vehicle emissions.

The Mayor spoke about the health effects of air pollution at a meeting as part of London Climate Action Week.

And Khan praised Prince William’s role, saying his involvement was “genuine…he really believes in it”.

Environmentalist and TV presenter Robert Irwin spoke of the need for “urgency and optimism” to protect the environment.

Earthshot Prize CEO Jason Knauf says optimism can seem “daunting” when there is such a divide in the political arena over climate challenges.

But “disappointment and defeat are thoughts that we can’t afford,” he said.

Prince William said: “The race can still feel big,” but what ideas were there to deal with it.

“One day people will look back on this decade and ask: When the evidence was clear, what did we do?” William asked his audience.

“When we saw forests regenerated, did we help promote restoration? When we saw clean air policies work, did we help other cities follow suit?”