Earthshot Prize Awards Speech
15 visionary finalists. 5 game-changing £1 million prizes. All in one unmissable night, history in the making as we celebrate the trailblazers with solutions that will shape a greener, better future for us all.
Earthshot Prize Winners 2024
The 2024 Earthshot Prize ceremony, hosted in Cape Town, South Africa, celebrated groundbreaking innovations addressing critical environmental challenges. Here are the five winners recognized for their outstanding contributions to sustainability and climate action.
1. Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems (Canada)
This company developed modular units capable of converting waste heat into electricity without moving parts. Using smartphone-sized plates produced through scalable manufacturing techniques, the system provides an efficient solution to harness industrial waste heat, which otherwise accounts for significant energy losses globally.
2. Keep It Cool (Kenya)
This initiative introduced solar-powered refrigeration systems that help preserve produce for small-scale farmers and fisheries in off-grid areas. By offering a circular energy solution, *Keep It Cool* addresses the massive post-harvest food loss in sub-Saharan Africa caused by high temperatures and inadequate cold-chain infrastructure.
3. Green Africa Youth Organisation (Ghana)
This youth-led organization focuses on waste management, education, and community empowerment. Operating in several African countries, their innovative approach reduces landfill dependence, improves air quality, and creates cleaner environments while fostering skills development and environmental awareness.
4. Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative (Kazakhstan)
The conservation group works to restore fragile ecosystems, including steppes, wetlands, and deserts. Partnering with local communities, it addresses vulnerabilities in populations affected by climate change, promoting biodiversity and ecosystem resilience in Kazakhstan.
5. High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (Global)
This intergovernmental coalition, co-chaired by Costa Rica and France, advocates protecting 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030. Comprising 118 member countries, the group is driving global efforts to conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate change impacts.
The event underscored the urgency of environmental action while celebrating creativity and innovation. Hosted by Prince William, the ceremony featured global artists and performers, blending culture and sustainability to inspire collaborative solutions for the planet’s future.
Prince William acknowledges the game-changers
I saw first-hand the extent to which people were dedicating their time, talent, and vision.” – 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. Drawing inspiration from the concept of moonshots, which since the moon landing in 1969 has become shorthand to talk about the most ambitious and ground-breaking goals, Prince William announced The Earthshot Prize: an ambitious set of challenges to inspire a decade of action to repair the planet. We believe in the power of human ingenuity to prove to us all that the seemingly impossible is possible.
