Celebrating Innovation: Winners of the Earthshot Prize 2025 Announced in Rio

Mon Nov 10 2025 21:58:53 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The Earthshot Prize 2025 winners, recognized for their groundbreaking efforts in environmental sustainability, were announced by Prince William at a star-studded ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.

Prince William revealed the winners of the Earthshot Prize 2025 during a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, awarding £1 million each to five innovative projects aimed at climate repair. Key figures attending included celebrities, athletes, and UK officials, with performances by Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes. The winners showcased initiatives ranging from forest restoration to global ocean conservation.

In a vibrant ceremony held at Brazil's Museum of Tomorrow, Prince William announced the winners of the Earthshot Prize 2025 on Wednesday, celebrating innovative projects that address urgent climate challenges.

This year’s winners each received a £1 million grant to scale their efforts in repairing the planet. Among the honored projects are initiatives focused on restoring tropical forests and advancing a global treaty for ocean conservation.

Prince William, who founded the Earthshot Prize in 2020, praised the winners as an inspiration and evidence that progress is achievable in the fight against climate change. The event featured notable presenters, including football legend Cafu and Olympian Rebeca Andrade, and performances by pop icons Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes.

Attendees included UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, highlighting the global importance of the initiative. William expressed his commitment to tackling environmental issues, determined to inspire transformation in the coming decade.

The award celebrates five key areas: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World, and Fix Our Climate. This year, nearly 2,500 nominations from 72 countries were evaluated, resulting in 15 finalists before selecting the five winners.

The projects honored at the ceremony include:

Protect and Restore Nature: re.green, Brazil – Aiming to make the Atlantic Forest financially sustainable.
Clean Our Air: Bogotá, Colombia – Implementing clean air zones and re-greening initiatives.
Revive Our Oceans: High Seas Treaty – Securing measures to conserve marine life, effective from January 2026.
Build a Waste-Free World: Lagos Fashion Week, Nigeria – Encouraging sustainability in fashion practices.
Fix Our Climate: Friendship, Bangladesh – Supporting vulnerable communities in climate resilience.

The recognition brought validation to the efforts of environmental innovators and emphasized the importance of collective action, as highlighted by the chair of the Earthshot Prize, Christiana Figueres. The prize symbolizes a commitment to a sustainable future, with the event reflecting the urgency of the ongoing climate crisis.

During his visit to Brazil, Prince William actively engaged with local communities, promoting conservation efforts and addressing deforestation challenges in the Amazon. He is set to continue his climate advocacy on the international stage at COP30, the UN climate conference, emphasizing global cooperation for environmental sustainability.