Highlights from the Earthshot Prize 2025 Winners Announcement in Rio

Thu Nov 06 2025 16:57:14 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Prince William announces the 2025 Earthshot Prize winners focusing on innovative climate solutions at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, featuring performances by celebrities including Kylie Minogue.

The Earthshot Prize 2025 winners were announced by Prince William in Rio de Janeiro, highlighting projects aimed at tackling climate change. Each winner will receive £1 million to expand their initiatives, including a focus on restoring tropical forests and a new global ocean treaty. The event was attended by notable personalities like Cafu and featured performances by pop stars. Prince William emphasized the urgency and potential for positive change in environmental efforts.

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.

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.

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 through means such as clean air zones and re-greening degraded areas in the Colombian capital.
Revive Our Oceans: The High Seas Treaty is a global ocean initiative that will set out clear measures to conserve marine life and will go into effect from January 2026.
Build a Waste-Free World: Lagos Fashion Week, in Nigeria, is redefining the industry, with each designer required to showcase their commitment to sustainable practice.
Fix Our Climate: Friendship is dedicated to helping vulnerable communities across Bangladesh in sectors like health and disaster preparedness.

Earlier in the day, Prince William met the 15 finalists during a visit to the Christ the Redeemer statue, reflecting on his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales's, visit there 34 years ago. Much of his visit has focused on climate issues, including a speech criticizing deforestation in the Amazon and engaging with local conservation efforts.