At this midpoint in the crucial Earthshot decade, the call for urgent action has never been more pressing — it’s important to remember the transformative power that hope and optimism can have in creating change.
Optimism inspires bold ideas and drives the meaningful action needed to tackle the challenges we face.
As we move into 2025, the Earthshot Family shares what fuels their reasons to be optimistic in 2025. Whether scaling life saving eco-brick housing in Nepal or advancing groundbreaking carbon mineralisation in the UAE, their stories are a testament to the power of resilience, creativity, and collaboration.
Their words remind us that every step forward counts, and together, we are building and scaling the solutions to shape a better tomorrow.
The resilience and determination of earthquake-affected communities in west Nepal gives me cause for optimism!
In the wake of massive destruction from the 2023 disaster, families are already busy rebuilding their homes. This time, they’re choosing our eco-brick technology, which withstood the earthquake and saved lives- to build an affordable, safe home. We’ve just hit the 100 house mark, and I’m confident that this year, we’ll be building back better at scale to protect more families, and help fix our climate in the process.
I am optimistic about 2025 because I see communities embracing innovative solutions to climate change.
Working with pastoralist communities affected by climate challenges, I have witnessed a growing commitment to sustainable practices such as agroforestry and renewable energy. Around the world, young leaders are also stepping up to advocate for change and implement local solutions.
As a member of The Earthshot Prize community, I have had the opportunity to engage with other changemakers, which strengthens my belief that together, we are moving toward a more inclusive and resilient future for people and the planet.
One reason I’m optimistic for 2025 is the growing momentum around sustainable innovation and collaboration. This gives me hope for the future.
Next year, MYCL will launch new partnerships with farmers’ communities in national parks. Together, we aim to reduce deforestation and land burning by transforming agricultural waste into mycelium-based materials. This not only protects our forests but also provides farmers with additional income. Each dollar coming from selling mycelium product will be use for conservation initiative.
Additionally, the era of high interest rates is easing, and I’m hopeful this will channel more capital into the real estate sector and emerging markets. With more collaborations and sustainable solutions on the horizon, the future feels full of possibility and impact.
A conversation with Nina from 2024 Finalists, Ferment’Up, gave me a new perspective on how technology can improve health while still keeping solutions organic and natural.
This inspired me to develop a technology that uses data that will help to create my organic supplements in a way that meets people’s specific needs, based on their region and nutrient deficiencies. It could also help organisations and feeding schemes improve meals to fight malnutrition in low-income communities. And what makes me optimistic about 2025 is seeing how innovation and tradition can work together to create real change.
Conversations like these remind me that we can build a healthier future for everyone, by just using the resources we already have.
2025 will be an exciting year for 44.01. We are scaling up operations in the UAE to turn more CO2 into rock and we’re selling verified, permanent carbon credits for the first time.
We also aim to start operating outside the Middle East, and we’re working with partners around the world to bring our technology to their countries. We believe mineralisation can play a significant role in protecting and repairing our climate, and I’m optimistic 2025 will be a transformative year for us.
As we look ahead to 2025, I see it as the year of purposeful change and growth. While 2024 has been a year of preparation, 2025 holds endless possibilities. My experience at Earthshot in Cape Town has been pivotal, offering me the platform to understand how impactful climate solutions can be scaled to reach wider audiences. The concept of “Urgent Optimism” resonated deeply with me, sparking the idea for a new project.
Next year, I’m excited to launch an initiative in Ghana that empowers junior high school students to address environmental challenges through education and innovation. By focusing on waste recycling, circular economy, and climate action, the project will transform wood and agricultural waste into valuable products, nurturing creativity while tackling urgent environmental issues.
My team and I are currently securing partnerships, and we hope to launch in May 2025. The future is bright, and I’m optimistic that this project will make a meaningful impact.
At MiAlgae we are feeling super excited and optimistic about our new production facility that we are building this year in central Scotland. This location means we’ll be strategically located close to whisky distilleries (our algae’s feedstock supply), our customer base and headquarters, making it easier for logistics and site management as we scale up.
Once fully operational this facility will produce as much Omega-3 as 1.86 billion fish, helping us to further protect precious fish stocks and meet the growing need for sustainable Omega-3s. This new facility will also create 100 new jobs across various departments.
Here’s to 2025!
I’m optimistic for 2025 because we must be. Environmental well-being is deeply intertwined throughout economic prosperity, public health, peace, and the wonders of biodiversity, and its deterioration directly threatens these fundamental needs.
Fortunately, there are truly incredible people committed to solving these challenges, and their inspiration drives me to do everything possible to protect the coral reefs that sustain us all.
I’m optimistic about 2025 because we’re witnessing an unprecedented surge in climate innovation and adoption of sustainable technologies.
Global renewable energy capacity grew by a record-breaking 40% in 2023, with solar and wind power becoming the most affordable energy sources in most countries. When I see major economies and businesses increasingly committing to net-zero targets, backed by tangible action and investment, it reminds me that we’re not just dreaming of change – we’re actively building it.
The momentum is real and accelerating.
Even on the most challenging days, what keeps me hopeful about the future for life on earth is the knowledge that we already have such a tremendous wealth of climate & environmental solutions — from technical to nature-based. We need policy & funding to catch up.
In 2025 I’m optimistic about the thousands of new nominations we received for The Earthshot Prize 2025.
Nominations closed just a few weeks ago so we’re still in the peak of our assessment process, but as with every year, I can say that at The Earthshot Prize we have the unbelievable privilege of being able to see the huge movement of climate and nature innovation happening all over the world. Each nomination represents the ingenuity and commitment of a whole group of people to ensure that the natural world is growing, rather than declining, on this planet, or to rebalance our climate, often while creating new opportunities for whole communities.
Seeing the thousands of fresh nominations every year gives a sense of global momentum, unity and hope for climate and nature.
