2 Jun 2023
This November, The Earthshot Prize is traveling to Brazil, where our multi-day celebration and Awards ceremony will take place in Rio de Janeiro.
Bringing together innovators, investors, philanthropists, and environmental leaders for the first time on the continent of South America, we will host a series of events to elevate the world’s most promising environmental solutions, catalysing support and investment to scale their impact.
The events will culminate in The Prize’s annual awards ceremony, during which five global solutions will each win a £1 million award to support their continued growth.
2025 marks the midway point of the Earthshot decade and each year we’ve witnessed the remarkable power of human ingenuity in addressing our planet’s most pressing challenges.
As we bring The Earthshot Prize to Brazil, a nation rich in biodiversity and environmental innovation, we are seeing fresh momentum for new ideas to create healthier and safer ways to live our lives.
It is an honour to profile the people making our world a better place for us and for our children.
The news was shared today in a video from The Earthshot Prize featuring Prince William with Earthshot Prize Trustees Dame Christiana Figueres and Dame Jacinda Ardern, Earthshot Prize Council Members Cate Blanchett and Nemonte Nenquimo as well as Earthshot Prize Global Ambassadors Robert Irwin and Nomzamo Mbatha.
Famous faces who have supported The Prize also feature including Billy Porter, David Beckham, Hannah Waddingham and Heidi Klum, alongside new Brazilian faces Cafu, Maju Coutinho, Marcos Palmeira and Mauro Silva.
Since its inception, the Prize has identified over 5,300 emerging environmental innovations from 141 countries, recognised and supported 60 innovators through its Fellowship Programme, and awarded £20 million to Prize Winners to help scale their solutions.
Building on the past five years of events in London, Boston, Singapore, and Cape Town, this year’s Prize will shine a global spotlight on 15 groundbreaking environmental solutions, which The Earthshot Prize Council will select later this year.
The 15 Earthshot Prize Finalists will take part in a year-long accelerator programme that provides mentorship, technical resources, and support for growing their businesses, as well as access to a global network of partners across business, philanthropy, and investment.
Brazil is the world’s most biologically diverse country. Credit Marcus Dall Col, Unsplash
This year, alongside global entries, The Earthshot Prize is reviewing 232 unique solutions head quartered in Brazil and the rest of South America, which is more than double the number in the 2024 Prize Process.
As the world’s most biologically diverse country, Brazil plays a critical role in global efforts to protect and restore precious natural resources and ecosystems. Home to vast cities, an expansive coastline, and more than half of the Amazon Rainforest, innovators and indigenous communities are at the forefront of developing solutions that combine science, technology, and the power of the natural environment to reduce emissions, clean our air, and ensure our ecosystems remain healthy, strong, and diverse.
Mato Grosso do Sul-based Belterra, a 2023 Finalist for The Earthshot Prize, is one example of Brazil’s leadership on nature-based solutions. Collaborating with small and medium-sized farmers to restore critical forests, Belterra has protected 40,000 hectares of Brazilian forest – more than six times the size of Manhattan – and connected dozens of farmers with commercial partners that drive regional economic impact.
Marcelo Angelo Pereti, CFO, Belterra, said:
“Since our nomination as a Finalist in 2023, The Earthshot Prize has undoubtedly helped our business to scale. Specifically, The Prize hosted masterclasses with our leadership team, guided us on capital raises which improved our structure for our Series A and through its network introduced us to future partners and clients. I am thrilled The Prize will be in Brazil this year and my hope is this will elevate many more organisations making a positive impact in our beautiful, nature-rich country.”
Across Latin America, there is an exciting upswell of environmental innovation and creativity, as seen in previous Earthshot Prize Winner Acción Andina and Earthshot Prize Finalist Amazon Sacred Headwaters.
These solutions demonstrate that the communities closest to environmental challenges like deforestation and ecosystem loss are also closest to the solutions. Acción Andina has planted almost 10 million trees across five countries in less than a decade, while Amazon Sacred Headwaters aims to protect 86 million acres of forests and promote a regenerative bioeconomy.
We’re thrilled to be coming to Brazil with The Earthshot Prize. The world has so much to learn from the people and communities across Brazil, developing game-changing solutions that drive innovation and creativity, and unlock prosperity.
In particular, we are excited to shine a light on so many young people who are actively pushing through boundaries. They are the heroes of this story.
The Earthshot Prize will be engaging with partners, innovators, and youth across Brazil during the year to identify ways it can further support innovative Brazilian projects to scale. The Earthshot Prize will visit all five regions of the country over the next several months, meeting with Brazilian start-ups, entrepreneurs, and local communities, attracting new nominations, and strengthening partnerships with investors and organisations that can support the scaling of Brazilian solutions.
To strengthen its presence in Brazil and to amplify the stories of inspiring Brazilian solutions, The Earthshot Prize will partner with GLOBO throughout the year to emphasise the urgent need to accelerate innovative solutions.
Paulo Marinho, CEO of Globo, said:
“Earthshot recognises the work of social entrepreneurs who go to bed and wake up everyday thinking about how to save the planet. The support of important companies, such as Globo, can expand the reach of these projects and of the agenda. For us, it is very important to be part of an international alliance that follows the issue globally.”
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More details about the Earthshot Prize in Brazil and the awards ceremony in Rio de Janeiro will be released soon.
