In brief
The Earthshot Prize 2025 winners were revealed in Rio de Janeiro, with projects focusing on tropical forest restoration and a global ocean treaty initiative among them. Each winner receives £1 million to enhance their environmental initiatives, aiming to combat climate change.
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 £1m 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.
Winning projects included:
- Protect and Restore Nature: re.green, Brazil - a project making protecting the Atlantic Forest financially viable.
- Clean Our Air: Bogotá - public policy initiatives promoting clean air zones.
- Revive Our Oceans: The High Seas Treaty - a global initiative for marine conservation.
- Build a Waste-Free World: Lagos Fashion Week - promoting sustainable practices in the fashion industry.
- Fix Our Climate: Friendship, Bangladesh - improving access to essential services and disaster preparedness.
There's a great deal we can learn from their determination, their vision for scale, and their unyielding belief that we can create a better world, Prince William remarked, echoing the hope that innovative actions can inspire collective change. The future king’s commitment to the prize for 10 years reflects the ongoing need for such initiatives as climate challenges intensify globally.
