The Prince of Wales has unveiled the five winners of this year’s Earthshot Prize, describing them as “an inspiration that gives us courage” during an awards ceremony held on Wednesday evening at Rio de Janeiro’s Museum of Tomorrow.
Prince William told attendees that the work of the 2025 laureates is “proof that progress is possible.” Each of the winning initiatives will receive a £1 million award to expand projects designed to tackle major environmental challenges.
This year’s winners include efforts to make restoration of South America’s Atlantic Forest financially viable, a Colombian clean-air initiative in Bogotá, and an international High Seas Treaty intended to strengthen marine conservation from 2026. Other awards went to Lagos Fashion Week for its sustainable design commitments and to Friendship, a Bangladesh-based organisation supporting vulnerable communities facing climate-related threats.
A number of high-profile presenters took part in the ceremony, including Brazilian football icon Cafu, Olympic gymnast Rebeca Andrade and former Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel. Performances from Kylie Minogue, Shawn Mendes and Brazilian pop star Anitta brought a celebratory atmosphere to the event.
The Earthshot Prize, launched in 2020 and inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot programme, supports environmental projects with the potential for large-scale impact. The prince has pledged a 10-year commitment to the initiative, with this year’s ceremony marking the halfway point.
Hosted by Brazilian broadcaster Luciano Huck, the event drew political figures including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
“When I founded the Earthshot Prize in 2020, we had a 10-year goal: to make this the decade in which we transformed our world for the better,” Prince William said. “We set out to tackle environmental issues head on and make real, lasting changes that would protect life on Earth.”
Nearly 2,500 nominations from 72 countries were submitted this year, with 15 finalists selected before the five ultimate winners were chosen.
2025 Earthshot Prize Winners
- Protect and Restore Nature: re.green (Brazil), for creating a financially sustainable model to protect and restore the Atlantic Forest
- Clean Our Air: The city of Bogotá (Colombia), recognised for policies including clean-air zones and re-greening projects
- Revive Our Oceans: The High Seas Treaty, an international agreement aimed at safeguarding marine biodiversity
- Build a Waste-Free World: Lagos Fashion Week (Nigeria), for its requirement that designers demonstrate sustainable practices
- Fix Our Climate: Friendship (Bangladesh), supporting communities with health, education, public services and climate-resilience programmes
Thiago Picolo, CEO of re.green, said the recognition places the organisation “on the right path.” Winning, he said, “helps us know we’re going in the right direction, facilitates conversations we need to have with banks, capital providers, corporates.”
Prince William praised all five initiatives, calling the prize “a mission driven by the kind of extraordinary optimism we have felt here tonight.” He added: “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.”
Christiana Figueres, chair of the Earthshot board of trustees, said the winners were contributing to a “global legacy.” She added, “These winners are proof that the spirit of collective action born here in Rio continues to grow stronger, more determined, and more urgent than ever.”
Ahead of the ceremony, the prince met with finalists at the Christ the Redeemer statue, standing in the same location where his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, was photographed in 1991.
During his five-day visit to Brazil, the prince has focused heavily on environmental issues. At the United for Wildlife conference earlier in the week, he condemned the criminal networks contributing to Amazon deforestation. He also visited Paquetá Island to meet residents, learn about mangrove preservation efforts and plant saplings.
Prince William is scheduled to travel on Thursday to Belém, in the Amazon region, where he will address COP30, the UN’s annual climate conference.
Find out more at: https://earthshotprize.org
