Prince William unveils 15 finalists for The Earthshot Prize

Prince William, alongside The Earthshot Prize, unveiled the 15 finalists for this year's prize during the second Earthshot Innovation Summit. This event, conducted in collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies and coinciding with the UN General Assembly, serves as a platform to honour and support innovators dedicated to addressing the world's most urgent climate-related issues.

The Earthshot Prize has recognised 15 innovators from six continents, selected from a pool of over 1,300 nominees. These finalists will all be contenders for one of the five £1 million prizes to be presented at the upcoming third annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony.

Established by Prince William in 2020, The Earthshot Prize's primary mission is to identify and amplify the most groundbreaking climate and environmental solutions worldwide, with the goal of safeguarding and rejuvenating our planet. The Prize revolves around five core ‘Earthshots,’ which serve as straightforward yet ambitious objectives aimed at preserving the Earth and securing a brighter future for present and future generations:

1. Protect & Restore Nature
2. Clean Our Air
3. Revive Our Oceans
4. Build A Waste-free World
5. Fix Our Climate

These Earthshots guide the Prize's efforts to recognise and support initiatives and innovations that contribute to addressing these critical global challenges.

In addition to being in the running for the £1 million prize, all the finalists will benefit from The Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme, a year-long initiative designed to accelerate the development and impact of their solutions. This programme offers mentorship, resources, and technical assistance. Finalists will gain access to The Earthshot Prize's network of influential businesses, investors, and climate experts. This network includes The Earthshot Prize's Global Alliance of Partners, consisting of some of the world's most prominent businesses, donors, investors, and environmental organisations, all dedicated to advancing climate action.

Finalists for Protect & Restore Nature

Acción Andina, Peru: Acción Andina is a grassroots, community-based initiative working across South America to protect native high Andean forest ecosystems for their invaluable benefits to nature and millions of people in the region.

Freetown the Treetown, Sierra Leone: Combining community stewardship and digital tools, the City of Freetown’s initiative, Freetown the Treetown, is galvanising a grassroots movement for tree preservation in Sierra Leone’s capital.

Belterra, Brazil: Belterra works with smallholder farmers in Brazil to restore forests through regenerative agricultural practices and to create market incentives for sustainably grown crops.

Finalists for Clean Our Air

Polish Smog Alert, Poland: One of the world’s most effective conservation campaign groups, Polish Smog Alert, helps secure policy change and air quality improvements across Poland and has goals to do the same across Central and Eastern Europe.

ENSO, UK: ENSO creates tyres specially designed for electric vehicles that are more sustainable and reduce harmful tyre pollution, leading to cleaner air for everyone.

GRST, Hong Kong: With the development of a new way to build and recycle vital lithium-ion batteries, GRST’s solution offers a pathway to make the electric cars of the future even cleaner.

Finalists for Revive Our Oceans

ABALOBI, South Africa: Using easy-to-scale technology, ABALOBI works with small fishing communities to record their catch data and to ensure a fair and improved livelihood from sustainable fishing.

Coastal 500, Global (US HQ): A global network of mayors and local government leaders, Coastal 500 is restoring ocean habitats and advocating for coastal protection internationally.

WildAid Marine Programme, Global (US HQ): Global non-profit organisation WildAid uses partnership building and knowledge sharing to address the world’s ocean conservation needs.

Finalists for Build a Waste-Free World

S4S Technologies, India: S4S Technologies’ solar-powered dryers and processing equipment to combat food waste, enabling small-hold farmers to preserve crops and turn produce that might otherwise go to waste into valuable products.

Circ, USA: US based company Circ has created a ground-breaking solution to enable the recycling of polycotton fabrics, which make up half of all textile waste.

Colorifix, UK: Colorifix uses DNA sequencing and nature’s own colours to create sustainable dyes that reduce the fashion industry’s use of water and harmful chemicals.

Finalists for Fix Our Climate

Sea Forest, Australia: Sea Forest’s revolutionary seaweed-based livestock feed drastically reduces the planet-warming methane emissions from cattle and sheep and supports sustainable farming and healthy marine ecosystems.

Aquacycl, USA: Using microbial technology, Aquacycl are making the treatment of industrial wastewater more accessible, more efficient, and less polluting.

Boomitra, Global (US HQ): Boomitra are removing missions and boosting farmer profits by incentivising land restoration through a verified carbon-credit marketplace.

After a meticulous nomination and evaluation process, the fifteen finalists were chosen by The Earthshot Prize's Expert Advisory Panel. This panel consists of 59 experts in scientific, academic, and subject-matter fields from around the world. The Expert Advisory Panel evaluates each of the finalists' solutions, considering their potential to address the most pressing climate challenges and make a positive difference for people, communities, and the planet as a whole.

The five laureates for this year's Earthshot Prize will be chosen by Prince William and the Earthshot Prize Council. This global council comprises activists, experts, and influential figures who advocate for immediate and innovative measures to safeguard the climate and the natural environment. Overseeing the Earthshot Prize Council is its Chair, Christiana Figueres DBE, who played a pivotal role in architecting the Paris Agreement, a landmark international accord aimed at addressing climate change.

The Earthshot Prize awards ceremony will take place on November 7th in Singapore. It will air around the world via broadcast partners to be announced in due course. The show will also be available globally on YouTube.

This year's awards ceremony will mark the inauguration of Earthshot Week, a series of events that accompanies the ceremony. Starting on Monday, November 6th, this week will serve as a platform for global leaders, businesses, and investors to come together in Singapore. They will engage with The Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists, seeking opportunities to expedite their solutions and drive concrete actions toward restoring our planet. Additionally, the public will be extended an invitation to participate in local events and activations focused on the 2023 cohort of Earthshot solutions, fostering wider awareness and engagement with these groundbreaking initiatives.