In brief
In a ceremony held at the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, Prince William announced the winners of the Earthshot Prize 2025. Each winner, including projects aimed at restoring tropical forests and initiatives for global ocean treaties, will receive £1 million to further their environmental efforts. The event was marked by performances from stars like Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes and included notable presenters such as Brazilian football legend Cafu. With over 2,500 nominations from 72 countries, this year's winners are seen as symbols of hope and progress in addressing climate issues.
A project to restore tropical forests and a global ocean treaty initiative are among the winners of this year's Earthshot Prize.
The winners, named at an awards ceremony in Brazil on Wednesday, will each be given £1 million to scale up their projects to repair the climate.
The Prince of Wales, who founded the global environmental award in 2020, said the winners were an inspiration and proof that progress is possible.
Brazilian football legend Cafu, Olympian Rebeca Andrade, and former Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel were among the presenters, while pop stars Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes performed at the ceremony in Rio de Janeiro's Museum of Tomorrow.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan were also in attendance.
Prince William, who is the president of the prize, told those gathered at the ceremony that he had founded the award with the aim of making this the decade in which we transformed our world for the better.
There are five Earthshots, or goals, for which an award is given: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean Our Air; Revive Our Oceans; Build a Waste-Free World; and Fix Our Climate.
The future king has committed himself to the prize for 10 years, with Rio marking a halfway point for the venture.
This year, nearly 2,500 nominees were submitted from 72 countries. Of these, 15 finalists were selected, from which the five winners were chosen.
- Protect and Restore Nature: re.green, in Brazil, is making protecting one of the world's most important ecosystems, the Atlantic Forest, financially viable.
- Clean Our Air: The city of Bogotá, has shown how public policy can bring lasting change.
- Revive Our Oceans: The High Seas Treaty is a global ocean initiative set out to conserve marine life.
- Build a Waste-Free World: Lagos Fashion Week, in Nigeria, is redefining the industry through sustainable practices.
- Fix Our Climate: Friendship is dedicated to helping vulnerable communities across Bangladesh.
