Prince William and Karan Johar discuss Earthshot Prize ahead of Mumbai awards

This year, those ambitions will take centre stage in Mumbai. As Mumbai prepares to host the Earthshot Prize Awards, Indian filmmaker Karan Johar and Prince William discussed the power of environmental innovation, India's growing representation among the finalists and why the solutions of tomorrow must also work as viable businesses.

Johar, who has been confirmed as host of this year's Awards Night, recentlysat down with Prince William to discuss the Prize, its finalists and the significance of bringing the event to India.

One idea emerged throughout their conversation: many of the solutions to the planet's biggest environmental challenges already exist, but they need the right support to grow and reach a wider scale. Johar described the Prize as a platform capable of bringing people together around that shared challenge.

“I think what's very special about the Earthshot Prize is how it’s bringing the world together to fight one common cause.

And for that, sir, I have to really, truly, truly congratulate you for supporting, for backing this, and giving it your heart, because I can tell whenever you speak about it, you can manufacture many things, but you can’t manufacture passion”, he said. William said his own enthusiasm for the initiative came from meeting the people behind the solutions.

“The passion comes from the genuine fondness of the winners. You only have to spend 10 minutes talking to them and you realise not only how dedicated they are, but how brilliant their ideas are.”View this post on Instagram.

The conversation also turned to the significance of the Prize's trophy, which has already travelled around the world. “It's amazing it's been around the world a fair bit already. It was marking the point that we've all got a part to play in and how we look after the planet,” William said.

India's role in the Prize has been particularly significant, with William highlighting the country's record among the finalists and winners. “I remember very clearly the energy and vibrancy of Mumbai and, most importantly for the Earthshot, is that we've had more finalists and more winners from India than from any other country”, he said.

He added, “I'm really excited to see what comes from actually being in India and hosting the awards this year there.”India's representation also gave Johar an opportunity to highlight another aspect of the Prize: the potential for environmental solutions to operate alongside commercial models. “The fact that there's so much Indian representation makes my heart full.

With some of them, there's also a deep business, a possibility which I think combines philanthropy with business incentives so beautifully with the Earthshot Prize,” he said. William agreed that the finalists represented more than charitable initiatives.

“There are proper businesses that are going to make investors money,” he noted. View this post on Instagram. Among the finalists is 'Satellites on Fire', an Argentine initiative that uses satellite technology and artificial intelligence to detect wildfires and warn communities at risk.

“These guys are absolutely brilliant. Genius young guys who set up this organisation to use satellites to be able to predict and warn early communities that might face wildfires,” William said. Another finalist, India's 'Mahindra Last Mile Mobility', is working in the transport sector, where the shift towards cleaner vehicles could have significant implications for urban air quality.

Johar pointed to the project's ambition. “Making all rickshaws electric, that is massive to control the levels of pollution.”The third project discussed was 'Yellowstone to Yukon', a major conservation initiative spanning the United States and Canada.

It focuses on protecting and restoring connected landscapes and wildlife corridors across the Rocky Mountain region and is one of the 2026 finalists under the Protect and Restore Nature category. William described the scale of the project as “A huge landscape restoration project from America to Canada.

A real large-scale story about environments being protected and restored.”Taken together, the projects discussed by Johar and William illustrate the breadth of the Earthshot Prize, from artificial intelligence and electric transport to large-scale conservation.

The initiative seeks not only to recognise environmental solutions but also to help them expand by connecting finalists with investors, businesses, philanthropists, policymakers and other potential partners.