Prince William and Kate Middleton recognize Barcelona for its adaptation to climate change
The Catalan capital is a finalist for the Earthshot Prize—an award launched by the Prince of Wales six years ago to highlight efforts to address the planet’s most serious ecological challenges between 2021 and 2030.
Defending nature has become a primary focus for the Prince and Princess of Wales, especially following Kate Middleton’s recent health struggles. The future Queen of England has stated on several occasions that spending time in green spaces proved deeply healing and restorative during her battle with cancer; since then, she has championed the therapeutic power of the natural world.
Determined to highlight the work of those who—like him—defend nature, Prince William, alongside naturalist David Attenborough, launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020. It is a prestigious international environmental award designed to fund and accelerate innovative solutions to the planet’s greatest ecological challenges.
Each year, five winners are selected, with each receiving a grant of £1 million to scale up their environmental projects. The ten-year initiative aims to identify at least 50 key solutions to repair the Earth by 2030.
The awards are divided into five categories: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Build a Waste-Free World, Fix Our Climate, and Revive Our Oceans—with Barcelona being recognized in the latter category.
The Catalan capital is a finalist for the award, which will be presented during a ceremony held in Mumbai on November 16 and 17. The Prince of Wales and his wife have sought to recognize the city’s efforts to combat the effects of climate change in a coastal area—not by fighting against rising sea levels, but by adapting to them.
The core of the project is Mar Bella, located along the Sant Martí seafront. Rather than repeatedly rebuilding a coastline vulnerable to sea surges, the Barcelona City Council is moving part of the promenade inland. This allows for wider beaches that act as natural infrastructure, absorbing wave energy and providing protection against storms and rising sea levels.
The project, valued at 150 million euros, is part of the *Pla Litoral*—the city’s ten-year coastal adaptation strategy—which is supported by a 1.8-billion-euro Climate Action Plan, the largest climate-related budget in Barcelona’s history.
According to the organizers of the Earthshot Prize, “Barcelona aims to make Mar Bella a model for other coastal cities to follow,” which has earned it a spot among the award’s finalists. It is competing in its category against ZEMBA—an initiative bringing together nearly 50 of the world’s major cargo owners, including Amazon, IKEA, and Nike, to achieve zero-emission maritime shipping—and the Niue Ocean Wide Trust, which has established a 32-million-New-Zealand-dollar fund to finance the permanent protection of the Pacific Ocean for future generations.
Why are Prince William and Kate Middleton recognizing Barcelona?
Barcelona has been recognized as an Earthshot Prize finalist for its innovative approach to adapting its coastline to climate change, rising sea levels, and coastal storms.
What is the Earthshot Prize?
The Earthshot Prize is an international environmental award launched by Prince William and David Attenborough in 2020 to support innovative solutions to the planet’s biggest environmental challenges.
Why is Barcelona a finalist for the Earthshot Prize?
Barcelona is a finalist for its Mar Bella coastal adaptation project, which aims to protect the coastline by moving part of the promenade inland and creating wider beaches that help absorb wave energy.
How is Barcelona adapting to rising sea levels?
Barcelona is adapting by redesigning vulnerable sections of its coastline rather than repeatedly rebuilding them. Wider beaches and relocated sections of the promenade are intended to provide natural protection against storms and rising sea levels.
What is the Mar Bella coastal adaptation project?
The Mar Bella project is a coastal protection initiative along Barcelona’s Sant Martí seafront. It focuses on creating wider beaches and moving part of the promenade inland to improve the coastline’s resilience to climate change.
