Deep within the ancient forests, the fires are burning out of control.

Armed only with spluttering hoses, the firefighters are battling tirelessly against a wall of agonising heat and dust. As soon as they put out one blaze, another sparks.

It is a scene that is becoming increasingly common in 2020. But this is not Australia, or even California: this is YakutiaThe remote Russian region is 13 times the size of Britain., a vast remote region of Siberia, where snow is slowly being replaced by towering flames.

Villagers are worried: it is not normal for fires to burn in the Arctic Circle.

Now, scientists have confirmed what many already suspected - last month was the hottest SeptemberOn average, surface air temperatures around the world were 0.05C warmer than the year before. ever recorded across the globe.

As the world reaches boiling point, alarmed environmentalists say time is running out to protect the planet.

Now, there is new hope in the form of a 50m prize launched this week by Prince William and David Attenborough to find the best ideas to save the Earth.

Dubbed the "new Green Nobel", the Earthshot prize aims to find 50 solutions to the world's most serious environmental problems by 2030, with five 1m prizes awarded every year for the next decade.

"There's a lot of people wanting to do many good things in the environment and what they need is a bit of a catalyst, a bit of hope, a bit of positivity that we can actually fix what's being presented," said the prince.

Named after Moonshot, JFK's mammoth projectIn 1961, then US President John F. Kennedy announced the goal of landing a man on the moon. At the time, American astronauts had spent a total of only 15 minutes in space. to take humans to the moon, the new awards are centred on five goals called "Earthshots": to protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world and fix our climate.

From schools to banks, anyone can enter, says Attenborough, even if their suggestions "may sound crackpot."

So why is Britain's future king so interested in climate change?

With the launch of the prize, the prince has become a third-generation activist. His grandfather, the 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, was for nearly 20 years the first president of the UK's World Wildlife Fund.

When his father Prince Charles made his first speech on the environment aged just 21 at a countryside conference in Cardiff, he was widely regarded as "a bit dotty".

But today, 50 years on, his son is eager to defend him: "I think the dotty person now would be the person who doesn't believe in climate change."

Senior royals, and especially monarchs-in-waiting, do not have a clearly defined role in British life. Instead, they have become effective wielders of soft power, campaigning for issues they feel are important.

In the now infamous black spider memos, a series of letters written to British politicians in the early 2000s, Prince Charles rallied support for everything from organic food to the Patagonian toothfish.

And when the G20The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is an international forum consisting of the government and central bank governors of 19 countries plus the European Union. Only former US President Obama, who was meeting the Queen, did not attend Prince Charles's meeting. met in London in 2009, the heir to the throne held a meeting for world leaders, raising 6 billion for the Amazon.

Now, then Duke of CambridgeThe Queen granted Prince William and Kate Middleton the titles the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge upon their wedding in 2011. is set to take on the climate mantle: "I feel right now it's my responsibility."

Yes, say some. By launching the new Earthshot awards, the biggest environmental prize ever to exist, Prince William has shown he is serious about tackling climate change. And the prince, who is famous worldwide, is a massive global influencer - he has the power to bring together scientists, politicians and celebrities like David Attenborough to coordinate worldwide efforts to save the planet.

Not really, say others. The Duke of Cambridge is a prince, not a politician. He may have some symbolic power, but he cannot pass laws to prevent the burning of fossil fuels or sign treaties to stop the destruction of the rainforests. Real change comes from decisive and radical government action, not from influencers, however famous they may be.