Prince William Highlights Climate Progress at Earthshot Prize Impact Assembly
Major breakthroughs to repair the planet were unveiled at The Earthshot Prize Impact Assembly, held in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies during London Climate Action Week. The Prince of Wales, President and Founder of The Earthshot Prize, praised the significant progress made in tackling the climate crisis in the first half of the decade during his remarks at the London Guildhall.
Prince William traveled to the Impact Assembly aboard London's 3,000th electric bus, joined by conservationist and Earthshot Prize Global Ambassador Robert Irwin, along with young London climate activists Clover Hogan and Pranav Sharma. The group shared an inspiring conversation on the progress being made to protect the planet.
Key Announcements and Investments
Significant advances across clean air, nature restoration, renewable energy, ocean protection, and waste reduction were announced at the assembly, attended by global leaders from business, government, philanthropy, and society. Robert Irwin and Francine Lacqua, Bloomberg Anchor and Editor-at-Large, hosted the proceedings.
Bloomberg Philanthropies, a Founding Partner of the Earthshot Prize, announced a new $260 million investment to expand the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative. This investment aims to close the gap between ocean protection commitments and action as countries work toward protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies, stated: "This marks a critical new phase of the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative. Since 2014, we have helped advance hundreds of national policies that protect our ocean, strengthen protections for coral reefs, and use data to increase transparency on ocean activity. The actions we take now will have an impact for generations to come."
Prince William's Call to Action
Speaking at the Impact Assembly, Prince William said: "One day people will look back at this decade and ask: when the evidence was clear, what did we do with it? When we saw forests being restored, did we help restoration spread? When we saw clean air policies working, did we help other cities follow? When we saw the energy systems transform, did we fully commit? When we saw communities on the front-line becoming leaders in resilience, did we stand beside them? That is the responsibility of this moment. And it is this story that matters, not just the problems we face, but the collective response to tackle them. The challenge can still feel immense but the proof is now in front of us. And history will ask what we did with it."
Five Years of Earthshot Prize Impact
The Earthshot Prize published its Impact Report, showcasing the transformative impact of its Finalists over five years. Collectively, they have:
- Avoided or captured over 18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions — equivalent to taking 4 million cars off the road for a year.
- Protected, restored, and improved 58 million hectares of land, forests, and freshwater systems — an area the size of France.
- Protected and restored over 85 million hectares of ocean and coastline — more than three times the size of the UK.
- Removed, upcycled, or avoided 465,000 tonnes of waste — equal to the weight of over 30,000 double decker buses.
- Saved, reused, or recycled 21 million tonnes of water — enough to fill 8,400 Olympic-size swimming pools.
- Improved air quality in regions home to 600 million people — twice the population of the USA.
Since 2020, the Earthshot Prize has supported 75 Finalists and awarded £25 million in Prize Grants, receiving over 6,700 nominations. In 2025 alone, the Prize considered over 2,400 solutions from 124 countries, the largest and most diverse pool yet, with 52% based in the Global South, 62% women-led, and 21% Indigenous solutions.
Landmark Announcements from Finalists and Winners
Several Earthshot Prize Finalists and Winners unveiled landmark announcements at the Impact Assembly, highlighting progress, partnerships, and investment helping environmental solutions scale.
Nature Restoration
re.green (Protect & Restore Nature 2025 Winner) announced a 20-year partnership with global healthcare company Novo Nordisk to restore 500 hectares of the Amazon. Kheyti (Protect & Restore Nature, 2022 Winner) revealed two new partnerships with the Odisha and Madhya Pradesh state governments, committing $5 million to support 2,000 farmers by reducing climate risks and increasing yields. Thousands more farmers are set to benefit as the Government of India recently validated Kheyti's technology, writing to every state urging adoption and opening access to a $200-million-a-year fund. Belterra (Protect & Restore Nature, 2023 Finalist) secured $19.7 million from Brazil's BNDES Climate Fund to expand its sustainable farming model, restoring 2,500 hectares of degraded land.
Air Quality
The State of Gujarat's (Clean Our Air, 2025 Finalist) clean air solution is expanding from India to Brazil with the help of the University of Chicago's Emissions Market Accelerator. Through a new collaboration to reduce air pollution in South America, Rio de Janeiro and the Emissions Market Accelerator will work together to test new approaches that cut pollution while supporting economic growth. This builds on Gujarat's successful proof-of-concept that improved air quality for nearly 300 million people and is expanding across Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
Renewable Energy
Form Energy (Fix Our Climate, 2025 Finalist) is building breakthrough 100-hour batteries designed to enable a more reliable and clean electric grid. Following their recent announcement of their first international deployment in Ireland, they shared their global expansion ambitions and outlook on the UK market.
Ocean Protection
The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC) (Revive Our Oceans, 2024 Winner) discussed the launch of the second round of funding for vital Marine Protected Areas using its £1 million Earthshot Prize. In the first round, the HAC supported the creation of the first-ever MPA in Ghana, a major breakthrough in marine protection. Coast 4C (Revive Our Oceans, 2024 Finalist) secured an oversubscribed $2.5 million seed round to expand its regenerative seaweed farming model across Southeast Asia.
Climate Resilience
Friendship (Fix Our Climate, 2025 Winner) announced a growing partnership with Conservation International through a new large-scale five-year climate adaptation initiative in Bangladesh, supported by $10 million from the Global Environment Facility's Least Developed Countries Fund. The project will support the restoration of a 118 km stretch of the world's biggest mangrove forest.
Waste Reduction
Colorifix (Build a Waste-Free World, 2023 Finalist) announced a partnership with Parley for the Oceans to launch Parley's first-ever branded collection powered by Colorifix technology, showing that sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-based dyes can scale across global fashion supply chains. Lagos Fashion Week (Build a Waste-Free World, 2025 Winner) unveiled the first African manifesto for a regenerative fashion industry, backed by global fashion leaders.
Youth Leadership
The Earthshot Prize and Alana announced the expansion of their partnership to India, where The I CAN Earthshot Challenge will run nationwide, reaching close to one million students across more than 15,000 schools in 24 states. Delivered in collaboration with Design for Change, the initiative will culminate with Finalists traveling to the Children's Earthshot at The Earthshot Prize Summit and Awards Night in Mumbai.
Mayor of London's Remarks
Sir Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: "Cities like London are on the frontline of the climate crisis, and The Earthshot Prize has done an incredible job of shining a spotlight on these issues over the past five years. We have made great progress in tackling air pollution, reducing emissions and building our climate resilience, but there is still so much to do. The achievements celebrated today at London Climate Action Week show that the right solutions exist — our challenge is now to scale them up. As Mayor, I want London to be the best place in the world for green innovation to grow, and I will continue to prioritise helping to create jobs, driving environmental action and improving lives as we build a fairer, greener city for all Londoners."
