The Earthshot Prize has an ambitious goal to accelerate and scale environmental solutions that will repair and regenerate our planet. The five Earthshots are Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-Free World; and Fix our Climate. Each year five Winners, one for each Earthshot, are awarded £1 million to act now, with urgent optimism.

This year The Earthshot Prize brought a week of awareness and celebration to Cape Town, South Africa. Frances, The Iris Project Project Manager was able to join in on the action. They connected 120 youths across Africa and Asia in a leadership training week in collaboration with Common Purpose. Earthshot Week truly felt like a platform for the youth. Each day built onto the next encouraging us as a cohort to stay bold, stay consistent and stay connected.
Some key highlights included the Earthshot+ Day, a day filled with discussion bringing together prize winners, investors, nominators and the youth joining on stage and in the audience. Wanjira Mathai, an Iris Prize Judge and keynote speaker at the event, spoke about how the climate sector does not need competition but collaboration, a poignant reminder.

Congratulations to all the 2024 Earthshot Finalists and the five winners. And a special congratulations to the two youth-led projects championing innovation and creativity: the winner of a Waste-Free World, Keep IT Cool is providing sustainable refrigeration and smart distribution solutions for small farmers and fishers. The Winner of Cleaner Air; The Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), is driving behavioural change to help communities clean up waste, create jobs and build infrastructure to support circular waste management across Africa. Both Francis and Desmond are beacons of the kind of innovation that is led by young minds.
To the youth who gathered, who spoke up, who listened, thank you. It is easy to patronise young people’s dreams. The Earthshot Week created a space that moved beyond this narrative, and youth grabbed the opportunity. We are not paralysed by despair – we are being strategic, creating spaces for innovation, embracing optimism, and actively building a leadership ecosystem rooted in care. This week showcased that young people are acting with courage.
