The awards, announced at a ceremony in Singapore yesterday, are aimed at rewarding innovative solutions to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies.
Started by Prince William in 2020, it aims to celebrate and support people and companies working to provide innovative solutions for climate and environmental issues. This year's event is taking place in Asia for the first time.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, the Prince of Wales said “hope does remain” even as the effects of the climate crisis become “too visible to be ignored”. Adding: “We owe it to the generations that will follow us to work together both for their future, and for the future of our planet. It is my belief that we will find the courage to do so. We will find the courage because we will hold on to the most powerful motivators of all - optimism and hope.”
Each of the winners receives £1 million ($1.23m) to help them scale up their ambitions and were selected by the prince and the Earthshot Prize Council, which was chaired by Christiana Figueres, one of the architects of the climate agreement signed in Paris in 2015.
Here are the five winning projects:
A project by GRST to build and recycle lithium-ion batteries in a cleaner and more sustainable way.
WildAid Marine programme’s initiative to bring together governments, scientists and campaigners to tackle illegal fishing and strengthen ocean conservation.
A scheme by S4S Technologies to develop solar-powered dryers and processing equipment to enable small-hold farmers to preserve crops and turn what would have been waste into valuable products.
Boomitra’s project with 150,000 farmers in some of the poorest parts of Africa, South America and Asia to reduce emissions and boost profits by incentivising land restoration through a verified carbon credit marketplace.
Accion Andina, a project that unites tens of thousands of people in local and Indigenous communities in the Andes mountain range to protect and restore the native forests and ecosystems.
All five winners, plus 10 other finalists, will receive mentorship, resources, and technical support from the Earthshot Prize fellowship, a year-long programme to accelerate the growth of their projects.