Tonight, the five 2024 Earthshot Prize Winners were announced at a star-studded awards ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa, hosted by Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner Billy Porter and award-winning television presenter Bonang Matheba.
The 2024 Winners, selected from this year’s 15 Earthshot Finalists, will be awarded £1 million each to accelerate and scale their game-changing environmental solutions.
Following a rigorous selection process focused on identifying impactful, inspiring and inclusive environmental solutions, the five Winners are:
Today, we celebrate the incredible achievements of our 2024 Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists. These visionary innovators from Africa and beyond are not just solving the environmental challenges facing their communities—they are lighting the path for a sustainable future for us all.
Their groundbreaking work demonstrates that with the right support and collaboration, we can scale solutions that will repair and regenerate our planet. Let their success inspire us to act with urgency and optimism, ensuring a thriving world for future generations.
Nominated by: United Nations Environment Programme
Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative has achieved the almost unprecedented feat of saving the critically endangered Saiga antelope from extinction. This mission has grown into one of the world’s largest conservation projects and is focused on protecting and restoring Kaakhstan’s Golden Steppe, one of the world’s least protected natural ecosystems.
Nominated by: Clean Air Fund
A youth-led, gender-balanced organisation, GAYO uses its “Zero Waste Model” to drive behavioural change in waste management practices across Africa that cut greenhouse gas emissions and particle pollution, while also bringing additional income to communities. Their goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and particle pollution in Ghana by 70%, compared to open burning, as well as divert a total of 4,000 tonnes of waste by 2030. GAYO’s plans to scale would make them the leading model for waste management on the continent.
Nominated by: Campaign for Nature
A groundbreaking alliance of 119 countries with the ambitious goal to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030, High Ambition Coalition identifies technical, financial and knowledge gaps and connects governments with technical assistance and funding. They’ve already achieved a major milestone with the adoption of the “30×30” target in the 2022 UN Global Biodiversity Framework.
Nominated by: Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Katapult Ocean
Keep IT Cool (KIC) addresses the challenge of food spoilage by providing sustainable, localized refrigeration systems that help small farmers and fishers preserve their produce. By installing solar-powered cold storage units where fish are landed, KIC significantly reduces spoilage and waste by ensuring the catch stays fresh and managing its transport to market. With plans to grow into East Africa and beyond, KIC is now working to expand their activities in poultry, fruit and vegetables and aims to bring their solution to more communities.
Nominated by: Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems (ATS) has developed a simple, safe and scalable technology to capture waste heat and convert it into electricity, offering a game-changing solution for heavy industries like cement and steel production. These industries require extremely high temperatures, which generate vast amounts of waste heat that is typically lost. ATS’s technologies have the potential to save gigatonnes of CO2.
The five Winners of the 2024 Prize cohort were selected by Prince William and The Earthshot Prize Council, a diverse group of experts, advocates and individuals dedicated to championing urgent and innovative action to protect our planet. The Earthshot Prize Council is chaired by The Earthshot Prize Board of Trustees Chair, Dame Christiana Figueres, architect of the Paris Agreement.
Members of The Earthshot Prize Council include: His Royal Highness Prince William, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, José Andrés, Sir David Attenborough, Cate Blanchett, Ernest Gibson, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Wanjira Mathai, Stella McCartney, Nemonte Nenquimo, Luisa Neubauer, Indra Nooyi, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Naoko Yamazaki.
In addition to the five £1 million prizes supporting the growth of Winners’ solutions, each of the 15 Earthshot Prize Finalists will receive dedicated mentorship, resources and technical support through the year-long Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme.
That support includes access to the Prize’s robust network of influential experts and partners, including The Earthshot Prize’s Global Alliance of Partners, comprised of some of the world’s largest businesses, donors, investors and environmental organisations committed to climate action.
Finalists will also have access to Launchpad, Earthshot’s bespoke online finance platform to matchmake Earthshot solutions to a growing community of members made up of mission-aligned donors and investors seeking to speed proven environmental solutions to scale.
The Earthshot Prize is already gearing up for the 2025 Earthshot Prize. Nominations for the Prize’s fifth cohort of innovative solutions and entrepreneurs are now open.
Learn more about the five incredible innovators who became Winners of The Earthshot Prize Awards 2024 in Cape Town.
