Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales in New York on Sept. 18, 2023. GETTY IMAGES

Prince William is visiting New York Tuesday during Climate Week, the climate summit that coincides with the United Nations General Assembly, to announce the finalists for the Earthshot Prize, his climate-focused charity.

In his first trip to New York City in nearly a decade, William made several stops, including to a fire station near the World Trade Center, where he met with first responders to discuss the importance of mental health care. A day earlier, he harvested oysters with school kids in New York Harbor as part of the Billion Oyster Project, an organization dedicated to revitalizing oyster populations in the harbor. William also met with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday to discuss climate change ahead of the summit.

He said at Tuesday's summit that he went for a run in Central Park that morning.

"I decided to join the hordes of New Yorkers doing their morning routine," William said.

Who are the finalists for the Earthshot Prize?
The 15 finalists for the 2023 Earthshot Prize include the following groups:

• Coastal 500, a group of mayors of and local government leaders from eight different countries working to restore ocean habitats and advocating for coastal protection internationally;


• WildAid Marine Programme, a global nonprofit based in the U.S. that addresses the world's ocean conservation needs;


• Circ Inc., which created a solution to enable the recycling of polycotton fabrics, which make up half of all textile waste;


• Aquacycl, which uses microbial technology to make the treatment of industrial wastewater more accessible, more efficient, and less polluting; and


• Boomitra, which is removing emissions and boosting farmer profits by incentivizing land restoration through a verified carbon-credit marketplace.

• Protect and restore nature


• Clean our air


• Revive our oceans


• Build a waste-free world


• Fix our climate