Finalist for Prince William's Earthshot Prize already brightening lives

Kokotela, South Africa — Powering up is thing astir of america return for granted, but hundreds of millions of group crossed parts of Africa surviving without reliable entree to electricity. An American institution is moving to alteration that, and their invention is simply a contender for this year's yearly Earthshot Prize, an grant handed retired by Britain's Prince William to item solutions to nan climate crisis.  

Like astir 12-year-olds, Dimakatso Ngcobo isn't a instrumentality of family chores. She wasn't awkward astir telling CBS News truthful arsenic she scrubbed an aged pot, a fewer integrative plates and 2 aged peanut food jars that she and her mom usage arsenic cups. 

Last year, her mom couldn't spend nan rent astatine their location successful Soweto, extracurricular Johannesburg, truthful they were evicted. The mother and girl walked to nan organization of Kokotela, a fewer miles further south, to bargain a mini ungraded spot of onshore for $200. There, they put up a caller one-room location made of metallic sheeting.

Ngcobo told CBS News that while there's nary moving h2o and nary toilet, what she missed nan astir was electricity.

Dimakatso Ngcobo, 12, looks astatine her telephone astatine her location successful Kokotela, South Africa, Nov. 4, 2024. CBS News

"It is simply a spot hard. We don't person much. We don't spend that much," she said, adding connected a much affirmative note: "At slightest nan schoolhouse adjacent is OK, arsenic I want to beryllium a expert 1 day."

She was besides grateful for her world getting conscionable a small spot brighter recently, acknowledgment to nan U.S. institution d.light, which was created by 2 co-founders who met astatine Stanford University's schoolhouse of design. The institution has now connected much than 180 cardinal group successful 70 countries to a cleanable root of power from star power.

"We are very focused connected making these products arsenic affordable arsenic possible, and nan measurement we do that is by pay-as-you-go financing, wherever customers tin salary 20 cents a time aliases 30 cents per day, akin to what they would walk connected kerosene aliases diesel for nan diesel generator," said d.light co-founder Nedjip Tozun. "But alternatively of virtually burning distant that money, they tin put it into an plus that they are going to ain that is going to present powerfulness for galore years."

D.light is 1 of nan 15 finalists successful nan moving for a 2024 Earthshot Prize. Winners will beryllium chosen Wednesday successful 5 categories: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix our Climate. The victor successful each class will beryllium awarded 1 cardinal U.K. pounds, aliases astir $1.3 million, intended to thief scale-up their respective projects.

William, nan Prince of Wales and future British monarch, has said he took inspiration from President John F. Kennedy's 1962 "Moonshot" situation to onshore a man connected nan satellite wrong 10 years erstwhile he created nan Earthshot Prize 4 years agone pinch nan ambition of uncovering and elevating innovative world ambiance solutions. The Earthshot initiative's eager extremity since it launched has been to repair nan satellite wrong 10 years.

The Earthshot grant ceremonial has travel to nan African continent for nan first clip this year, pinch Cape Town successful South Africa playing host.

Delegates astatine nan Earthshot awards successful Cape Town told CBS News up of Tuesday's U.S. national election that they've been disappointed that climate change didn't look arsenic a cardinal taxable successful nan statesmanlike race, and they interest it could autumn moreover further from nan attraction of U.S. argumentation conversation.

New Yorker Shantha Bloemen, CEO of Mobility for Africa, a start-up that provides greenish mobility services to agrarian women successful Africa utilizing custom-built electrical tricycles and bespoke star powered batteries, was nominated for an grant this twelvemonth but didn't make nan finalist list. She said she was still hoping to find partners successful Cape Town this week to thief her standard up her company's operations.

"We request urgent action and beardown governmental activity to unlock nan financing to combat this crisis," she told CBS News. "There are galore of america pinch proven solutions to mitigate nan worst effect connected those surviving connected nan beforehand statement of nan crisis, but without beardown U.S. governmental leadership, it will beryllium difficult to unlock nan finance needed to standard quickly to succeed. Time is not connected our side."

Prince William acknowledged nan networking facet of nan prize inaugural Tuesday astatine an arena successful Cape Town. Panel big Wanjira Mathia teased nan British royal arsenic he sat for a sheet discussion, calling nan prize "a ample making love work to bring together ambiance innovators."

Earthshot Prize Youth Program personnel A'aron John (L), Earthshot Prize Trustee 'Tokunboh Ishmael (R) and Britain's Prince William (C), return portion successful a sheet chat astatine Earthshot+ successful Cape Town, South Africa, Nov. 5, 2024. GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/POOL/AFP/Getty

"The prize is astir visibility, but it's besides astir scale," he said. "What we perceive a batch from innovators is, 'I person a solution and nary thought really to scale,' and businesses and leaders who say, 'I person money but don't cognize wherever to put it.' So, that's wherever we created a launchpad, which is simply a making love work which matches nan funder pinch nan solution, and vice versa. And I deliberation this collaboration is cardinal — if you put each of this into 1 pouring pot, past sparks will fly."

"It's awesome to spot those galore superb minds and changemakers successful a room," he said, addressing nan audience.

Back successful Kokotela, southbound of Johannesburg, Muriel Nobela tin now powerfulness her TV, power and lights acknowledgment to a d.light star sheet connected her roof. The sheet feeds energy to an extracurricular ray and to a retention artillery wrong her home, and it each costs her conscionable complete $250, which she's paying disconnected successful mini monthly instalments.

Her neighbour Portia Msomi had ever been forced to trust connected state to navigator and candles for ray successful nan evenings. Now, it's conscionable a flip of a switch.

Portia Msomi switches connected her solar-powered light, astatine her location successful Kokotela, southbound of Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov. 4, 2024.  CBS News

"Aha!" said Portia, giggling arsenic she deed her caller d.light move to illuminate her home. "You see, isn't it wonderful!"

Tozun told CBS News it's that benignant of guidance that drives d.light's work.

"The sanction of our institution is d.light, and that is nan emotion that gets america really excited to spot successful our customers," he said, adding: "There are 2 cardinal group successful nan world who person unreliable energy access, and astir 750 cardinal pinch nary entree to energy astatine all, our extremity is  to toggle shape nan lives of 1 cardinal group by 2030." 

Portia takes a batch of pridefulness successful her caller star system. With a immense magnitude of effort she climbed onto a ample trunk to agelong her manus onto her metallic tile to drawback her star sheet and cleanable it meticulously. She told CBS News it took her only 4 months to salary disconnected nan $150 costs of nan system.

She pointed to various neighbors' homes that had burned down successful accidents involving paraffin and candle fires.

"We are safe now, and person ray each nan time," she said.

Light and information are important for young Dimakatso Ngcobo, too, but nan 12-year-old told CBS News that being connected was 1 of nan biggest benefits of cleanable powerfulness successful her home. She tin now indulge successful her favourite activity: scrolling done TikTok and Instagram.

"And I emotion TV," she added. "I really emotion cartoons."

Her infectious laughter besides helped to ray up nan room.

"I consciousness happy now," she said. "We don't person much, butI tin watch TikTok and dream astir my future."

In:
• William Prince of Wales
• Climate Change
• Global Warming
• Pollution