At the third annual Earthshot Innovation Summit, conducted in collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Earthshot Prize announced its fourth cohort of Prize Finalists. This remarkable assembly comprises global innovators, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and advocates who are at the forefront of developing solutions to critical climate and environmental issues. Each of the 15 Finalists is competing for one of five £1 million prizes, which will be presented at The Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday, 6 November. The event will be broadcast across Africa by the MultiChoice Group.
“Today, we celebrate the incredible achievement, unwavering dedication and urgent optimism that drives our fourth class of Earthshot innovators,” said Prince William, Founder and President of The Earthshot Prize. “The passion of these Finalists is a testament to what can be achieved when we tap into the enormous creativity, ingenuity, and optimism of communities around the world. Representing every corner of the globe, these Finalists are leading the way in solving some of the most urgent environmental challenges. Their groundbreaking work is inspiring hope and action as we work to create a sustainable future for generations to come.”
This year's Finalists were chosen from a pool of nearly 2,500 nominees, submitted by a network of over 430 nominators across 75 countries. The Earthshot Prize selected 15 Finalists based on evaluations conducted by its selection partners and the Expert Advisory Panel, which consists of more than 100 global experts with extensive experience in conservation, science, technology, business, finance, academia, and policy.
Throughout a year-long process of searching and selecting, The Earthshot Prize, along with its partners and the Expert Advisory Panel, assessed each Finalist's solution for its ability to address environmental challenges and create a positive impact on people, communities, and the planet. Consequently, the 2024 Earthshot Prize showcases the most competitive group of Finalists to date. This year's cohort represents six continents and includes several notable firsts for the Prize, such as the inaugural Finalists from France, Ghana, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Nepal.
As The Prize advances its mission to restore and rejuvenate the planet, it has emerged as a significant global platform for identifying the best environmental solutions and facilitating essential investments and resources for these initiatives. With today's announcement, the total number of global solutions recognized as Prize Finalists has reached 60, marking a significant achievement in The Prize's commitment to highlighting and promoting promising climate solutions worldwide. Since its inception in 2020, The Prize has also facilitated over £75 million in direct and in-kind support for its Finalists.
The Prize is dedicated to discovering, showcasing, and scaling innovative solutions necessary for achieving vital environmental objectives. The selected solutions align with the five 'Earthshots'—clear, ambitious, and aspirational goals that outline the future we aspire to create for generations to come: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World, and Fix Our Climate.
For The Earthshot Prize to Protect And Restore Nature, the 2024 Finalists are:
- Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance, Ecuador: An alliance of 30 indigenous nations that collectively stand together to protect 86 million acres of critical Amazon rainforest – an area the size of Germany – and advocate for a regenerative bioeconomy.
- NatureMetrics, UK: A global intelligence start-up in environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling on a mission to make biodiversity monitoring accessible to all. Using eDNA technology to identify species populations and report environmental and conservation impacts, they have the potential to unleash system-level change in nature conservation and restoration.
- Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, Kazakhstan: An organization that has achieved what was thought impossible – the rapid recovery of a large animal from the brink of extinction. Partnering with governments and indigenous communities to restore Kazakhstan's Steppe grassland, Altyn Dala’s work to deliver the comeback of the Saiga antelope is one of the greatest nature restoration successes ever recorded.
For The Earthshot Prize to Clean Our Air, the 2024 Finalists are:
- GAYO Ghana: A youth-led organization that uses its “zero waste model” to drive behavioural change in waste management practices across Africa that cut greenhouse gas emissions and particle pollution while bringing additional income to communities. Their plan to scale would reduce air pollution by 70% and make them the leading model for waste management on the continent.
- d.light, Pan-Africa: A successful company on track to transform the lives of one billion people by providing affordable and clean solar home systems that provide electricity and replace polluting kerosene lamps and dirty stoves. Operating across Sub-Saharan Africa, India and over 60 additional countries, d.light is already one of the world’s largest solar home system providers and continues to rapidly improve access to clean energy.
- MYCL, Indonesia: A company tackling two major problems: crop-waste burning and harmful leather production, both which pollute the air and damage quality of life. They take crop waste – which is typically burned – and use a unique mushroom base to convert it into a leather alternative. They are scaling rapidly via key partnerships with major fashion designers and creating local jobs for farmers and artisans.
- High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, Global: A groundbreaking alliance of 119 countries with the grandest goal of any Finalist to date – to protect 30% of the land and oceans by 2030, by identifying technical, financial and knowledge gaps and connecting governments with technical assistance and funding. They’ve already achieved a major milestone with the adoption of this “30x30” target in the 2022 UN Global Biodiversity Framework.
- MiAlgae, UK: A company offering a circular economy solution to the problem of sourcing marine Omega-3s from fish oil, which requires catching large quantities of wild fish simply to feed the farmed fish that we consume. Using a patented fermentation process and whisky by-products, MiAlgae grows nutrient-rich microalgae as a direct source of Omega-3s for aquaculture feed. Their innovative approach makes the solution highly scalable and cost-efficient, reducing the need to rely on wild fish and offering a sustainable alternative for the industry.
- Coast 4C, Philippines: A social enterprise that aims to build the world’s largest supply of regenerative seaweed, benefiting marginalized coastal fishing communities by transforming their harvest and providing a market to sell the seaweed at profits to lift them out of poverty.
- Natural Fiber Welding, USA: A company that creates biodegradable natural fibers and ingredients to replace plastics with wide applications in fashion, footwear, automotive and more. NFW’s non-toxic processes benefit farmers and reduce carbon emissions by 90%, compared to plastics.
- Ferment’Up, France: A company that upcycles skins and seeds from fruits and vegetables using dry fermentation to create highly nutritious ingredients from food waste, cutting carbon emissions and drastically reducing water use.
- Keep It Cool, Kenya: A company that is tackling problems with proper refrigeration and cold-chain logistics across Africa by offering solar-powered refrigeration solutions that cut post-harvest waste by 25% and by connecting smallholder farmers and fishers to a centralized online marketplace.
- Equatic, USA: Using breakthrough technology, this early-stage company uses a process called seawater electrolysis to remove carbon dioxide from the ocean 99,000 times faster than nature alone. The process creates a byproduct called green hydrogen, a desirable clean fuel whose sale could support its carbon removal operations.
- Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems, USA: A company that takes excess heat from heavy industrial processes, like creating cement and steel, and converts the heat waste into electricity. ATS’s unique heat waste capture technology has the potential to avoid a gigatonne of CO2 waste by 2050.
- Build Up Nepal, Nepal: A social enterprise that has developed an earthquake-resilient brick with 75% lower carbon emissions compared to traditional clay-fired bricks. Homes built with these bricks are affordable and have been proven to withstand earthquakes.