Conservation

The Earthshot Prize

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A decade of action to repair our planet

Over the last ten years, the evidence that we face urgent challenges to protect the environment has become indisputable, and it’s clear that the time to act is now. In response, The Royal Foundation and Prince William launched The Earthshot Prize, the most prestigious global prize for the environment in history.

As well as identifying evidence-based solutions to the biggest environmental problems the planet faces, The Earthshot Prize aims to turn the current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism that we can rise to the biggest challenges of our time. The Prize is about much more than awarding achievement – it is a decade of action to convene the environmental world with funders, businesses and individuals to maximise impact and take solutions to scale, to celebrate the people and places driving change; and to inspire people all over the world to work together to repair the planet.

The Prize will incentivise change and help to repair our planet over the next ten years – a critical decade for the Earth.

THE PRIZE

Over the course of the next decade, The Earthshot Prize will find the most inspiring solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. These new solutions will work on every level, have a positive effect on environmental change and improve living standards globally, particularly for communities who are most at risk from climate change.

Prizes could be awarded to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations – scientists, activists, economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities, and countries – anyone whose workable solutions make a substantial contribution to achieving the Earthshots.

An awards ceremony will take place in different cities across the world each year between 2021 and 2030, at which the five winners for each of the Earthshots will be selected from 15 finalists.

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THE EARTHSHOTS

Taking inspiration from President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot, which united millions of people around the goal to put man on the moon and catalysed the development of new technology in the 1960s, The Earthshot Prize is centred around five ‘Earthshots’, simple but ambitious goals for our planet which if achieved by 2030 will improve life for us all, for generations to come.

The five Earthshots are:

  • Protect and restore nature
  • Clean our air
  • Revive our oceans
  • Build a waste-free world
  • Fix our climate
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THE PRIZE COUNCIL

The Earthshot Prize Council is a truly global list of influential individuals from a wide range of different sectors, all of whom are committed to championing positive action in the environmental space.

Every year from 2021 until 2030, The Earthshot Prize Council will award The Earthshot Prize to five winners, one per Earthshot, whose evidence-based solutions make the most progress towards the five Earthshots.

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London 2021

The first-ever Earthshot Prize awards ceremony took place at the iconic Alexandra Palace in London 2021. Hosted by Clara Amfo and Dermot O’Leary, the evening’s event was introduced by Prince William.  It  featured Sir David Attenborough, who spoke about the importance of The Earthshot Prize and his optimism in our ability to rise to the greatest environmental challenges of our time. The ceremony featured unforgettable performances from globally renowned artists Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, KSI and Yemi Alade, and Shawn Mendes.

The awards ceremony celebrated the global Finalists and awarded the first five Winners of The Earthshot Prize. The five winners of The Earthshot Prize were announced by a line-up of presenters including The Duchess of Cambridge, Emma Thompson, Emma Watson, David Oyelowo and Mo Salah.

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2021 Winners & Finalists

After an unprecedented global search for the most innovative solutions to the greatest environmental challenges facing our planet, we are proud to present the first-ever cohort of Earthshot Prize Winners & Finalists. Each of the five Winners receive £1million prize money, a beautiful and one-of-a-kind Earthshot Prize medal, and a global network of professional and technical support to scale these cutting-edge environmental solutions.

Together this team includes incredible leaders, inspiring activists, brilliant innovators, a forward-thinking city and even an entire country making a real difference. All 15 of the inaugural Prize Finalists will receive tailored support to help scale their solutions and realise an even greater impact with their ground-breaking work.

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“The earth is at a tipping point and we face a stark choice: either we continue as we are and irreparably damage our planet or we remember our unique power as human beings and our continual ability to lead, innovate and problem-solve. People can achieve great things. The next ten years present us with one of our greatest tests – a decade of action to repair the Earth”

Prince William

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