Prince William Announces Earthshot Prize Winners 2025 in Rio

Sun Nov 30 2025 23:14:04 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

At a vibrant awards ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Prince William revealed the winners of the 2025 Earthshot Prize, highlighting groundbreaking projects aimed at repairing the climate.

During a star-studded ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Prince William announced the winners of the Earthshot Prize 2025, which recognizes initiatives focused on environmental restoration. The award aims to provide funding for projects such as restoring tropical forests and a global ocean treaty initiative. Notable attendees included celebrities and politicians, all dedicated to addressing 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.

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: Bogotá demonstrates lasting change through clean air zones and re-greening degraded areas.
Revive Our Oceans: The High Seas Treaty sets measures to conserve marine life.
Build a Waste-Free World: The Lagos Fashion Week promotes sustainable practices in fashion.
Fix Our Climate: Friendship organization supports communities in Bangladesh with multifaceted aid.

Earlier in the day, Prince William met the 15 finalists during a visit to the Christ the Redeemer statue, where he posed for a photograph on the same spot his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, did 34 years ago. His focus during his visit was largely on climate issues, including criticism of environmental crimes and engagement with local conservation efforts.