Queen Rania: We're in a race against time for our planet's survival

Queen Rania has urged nations and communities to rise up to tackle climate change before it is too late.

The Jordanian royal said the nations of the Middle East can already feel the looming threat, with hotter temperatures and increasingly erratic weather.

Queen Rania spoke online at a ceremony at Expo 2020 Dubai for the Earthshot award, which sets out to identify and fund start-ups that can bring solutions to tackle climate change.

Queen Rania, a member of the Earthshot Prize Council, told an audience including Prince William that the pandemic had already shown what was possible when countries acted together, and when flights and traffic were reduced.

"For just a moment, our planet healed," she said.

"The streets were quieter, the air was cleaner, the water clearer. But that didn't last.

"Today, our shared environment is under strain. Here in the Middle East, temperatures are rising, while water supplies are shrinking. And we're not alone."

She said: "When it comes to the environment, every region is under threat. The question now is what will be our future.

"And I'm hopeful. Because the future is these finalists and so many like them around the world.

"They remind us that human ingenuity is the ultimate human resource.

"The fuel we need to save our planet rests in our own heads, hearts and hands. And when we tap it, as these young leaders have, we see such possibility."

From harnessing the power of the Sun to generating low cost or free energy, Queen Rania said we must ensure that "no waste goes to waste".

"But as exciting as these bold initiatives are, we're all in a race against time. To realise the hopeful future before us, we need to work as one," she said.

"If community-based projects such as the ones we saw today had more capital behind them, together we'd realise that problems that seemed overwhelming are actually manageable. Together, we'd see that we can heal our planet. Earth is our home and this is our shot."