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Five climate innovators awarded £1m each at Earthshot Prize ceremony in Rio
A tropical forest restoration initiative and a global ocean treaty project were among the five winners of the 2025 Earthshot Prize, each receiving £1 million to expand their environmental solutions. The awards were announced Wednesday at a high-profile ceremony in Rio de Janeiro's Museum of Tomorrow, marking the halfway point of the decade-long prize founded by the Prince of Wales in 2020.
Prince William, who presided over the event, called the winners "an inspiration" and proof that "progress is possible" in addressing climate challenges. The ceremony drew global figures, including Brazilian football legend Cafu, Olympian Rebeca Andrade, and former Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel, while performances by Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes highlighted the evening. UK officials in attendance included Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
Modelled on JFK's Moonshot, the prize targets five critical environmental goals
The Earthshot Prize, inspired by President John F. Kennedy's 1960s Moonshot challenge, focuses on five key objectives: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World, and Fix Our Climate. This year's winners were selected from 15 finalists, whittled down from nearly 2,500 nominees across 72 countries.
Prince William reiterated the prize's ambition to make the 2020s "the decade in which we transformed our world for the better," emphasizing the need for "real, lasting changes" to safeguard the planet. The initiative, now in its fifth year, has committed to a 10-year run, with Rio hosting its midpoint celebration.
Winning projects: From forest restoration to ocean governance
Among the winners, re.green, a Brazilian organization dedicated to restoring tropical forests, claimed the Protect & Restore Nature award. Its CEO, Thiago Picolo, described the recognition as critical validation for scaling their work. "This prize helps us engage with banks, investors, and corporations," he said, calling it a "stepping stone" for broader impact.
Other winners included a global treaty initiative aimed at reviving ocean health, though specific project details were not disclosed in the ceremony. Prince William praised all recipients as "innovators" whose "determination, vision for scale, and unyielding belief" in a better world drive the prize's mission.
"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."
Christiana Figueres, Chair of the Earthshot Prize Board of Trustees
Prince William's climate-focused Brazil visit
The awards ceremony capped a five-day visit to Brazil for Prince William, centered on environmental advocacy. Earlier in the week, he met the 15 finalists at Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue, recreating a photograph his mother, Princess Diana, took in the same spot 34 years ago.
On Tuesday, the prince condemned criminal networks fueling Amazon deforestation during a speech at the United for Wildlife conference. He also visited Paqueta Island, where he engaged with locals on mangrove conservation and planted tree saplings. His itinerary concludes Thursday in Belém, where he will address COP30, the UN's annual climate summit.
Optimism amid urgency
Figueres struck a hopeful tone, noting that while the winners' 2030 targets are "deeply ambitious," their progress to date "fuels my optimism." The prize's halfway milestone, she said, underscores a growing global movement to confront climate challenges with scalable solutions.
