The Earthshot Prize

Lebo M: Nants ingonyama Bagithi baba Ingonyama, ingonyama Ingonyama baba... Nants ingonyama Bagithi baba Ingonyama, ingonyama... Ngonyama oh nengwe bo Oh oh oh... Sizani bo Nans' iyaqhubeka Gqi!

Nants ingonyama Bagithi baba... Hhaw' sithi ooh Ngonyama Ingonyama nengw' enamabala... Ingonyama... Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw' enamabala... Ingonyama... Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw' enamabala... It's the circle of life And it moves us all Through despair and hope Through faith and love 'Til we find our place On the path unwinding In the circle The circle of life... [Singing in native language] Lebo M and singers: It's the circle of life And it moves us all Through despair and hope Through faith and love 'Til we find our place On the path unwinding In the circle The circle of life The circle of Life... Life Life Hheyi ye, le, le [Cheering and applause] Announcer: Welcome to planet Earth's biggest celebration of climate creativity.

This is the Earthshot Prize, live from Cape Town, South Africa.

Tonight we'll see which of our 15 finalists wins the 1-million-pound prize up for grabs in these five categories of world-saving ventures.

Presented by Heidi Klum, Tobe Nwigwe, Winnie Harlow, Nina Dobrev, and Tendai Mtawarira.

After that spectacular intro from Grammy Award-winner Lebo M, we still have some of Africa's best to come.

It's Uncle Waffles and Diamond Platnumz, along with viral Sensation Ndlovu Youth Choir.

We'll hear from the prize's founder, His Royal Highness Prince William, introduced by Earthshot's first two global ambassadors, Robert Irwin and Nomzamo Mbatha.

Now, please give a warm welcome to your hosts for tonight's worldwide broadcast Billy Porter and Bonang Matheba.

[Cheering and applause] Billy Porter: Hello, everyone!

And welcome to the Earthshot Prize 2024.

We are in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa.

[Cheering] Oh, yes, oh, yes.

And what a way to open up the show, ladies and gentlemen.

A huge thank you to Lebo M and, of course, the Ndlovu Youth Choir.

[Cheering and applause] Yes!

Yes!

It's lit up in here tonight.

Get ready for an awards show like no other.

This is the biggest environmental awards show on the planet, and we are delighted to have you all here with us as we celebrate brilliant people around the world, who give us real hope for the future.

Absolutely, Billy.

They're finding solutions to issues that affect every single one of us.

But unlike most other prizes, this isn't about their past achievements, but rather about their future potential.

Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we have 15 finalists.

And tonight we'll find out which of them will be awarded one of the five Earthshot Prizes.

And I have to tell you, it is massive, huge.

How huge?

Very big.

So big.

Tell us, tell us how big.

Let me tell you how big it is.

Each one of our winners will receive a massive 1 million pounds to boost their ongoing work.

What?!

Can I be a finalist?

I need $1 million.

We should be finalists.

Billy: I mean pounds.

Ha ha!

Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna have a very exciting night tonight, so make sure you don't go anywhere.

So let's kick things off with two people-- one...or two of Earthshot's finest ambassadors.

One is a conservationist and host of Australia's "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!," and the other, a brilliant South African actress, who will soon be starring in the next "Mission: Impossible" movie.

Ooh!

[Crowd cheering] Their mission, if they choose to accept it, is to tell us more about why we're all here tonight.

So please welcome the brilliant Robert Irwin and Nomzamo Mbatha.

You got it.

I did it?

You got it.

I got it, babe.

You got it!

[Billy laughs] [Cheering and applause] Thank you, Billy.

And thank you so much, Bonang.

Sanibonani!

[Cheering] What an incredible feeling.

I'm so proud to see the Earthshot Prize right here in my beautiful home country, South Africa, Mzansi.

After previous ceremonies in London, Boston, and Singapore, this feels extra special.

When the awards were founded four years ago, the intention was to spark hope and action.

Today, it is so much more than that.

It has become a global movement and an impact for change.

The impact is already so huge.

It absolutely is.

Since 2020, we've seen our winners and finalists achieve some truly astonishing things.

Mm-hmm!

Earthshot continues to support all of them.

So we can't wait to find out who will be joining them tonight.

And can I just say how pleased we all are to see all 15 of this year's finalists with us?

So let's give them a huge round of applause.

Nomzamo: Yes, please.

[Cheering and applause] Now, the thing about tonight is that even if you don't win, you already have won.

Because you know, Robert, once you start with the Earthshot family, it is a family forever.

That is until infinity... Yup.

you become a fully fledged member of the Earthshot Prize.

They'll each receive a year-long fellowship program, and they'll also be connected to Earthshot partners, who will help them to scale their solutions.

How good is that.

It really is good news all around.

Even being nominated into the Earthshot Prize is truly something to be proud of.

So we'd love to see every young person out there to dream of becoming a future Earthshot winner.

It really is possible.

Just one simple idea could change the world forever.

I like the sound of that.

Mm-hmm.

Man: It starts with a voice in your head... [Echoing] head... quiet at first.

The voice sees the status quo and says, "No, we can be better."

There in your mind flickers an image of a world that's changing quickly... and the world that might be.

From the deepest ocean to the highest mountain, from the soil we grow in to the air we breathe, from the smallest insect to the largest mammal.

So you hold that flickering vision close through long days of toil, through the dizzying dance of one step forward, two steps back to the disappointment and the breakthroughs.

And you will it into being.

Against the odds, a new idea made real that started from your place in the world, creating change that now all can see, proof that in the face of apathy and anxiety, we can reclaim our future, and that wherever you are, whoever you are, you can bring your greatest gift-- creativity, courage, and determination to solve a problem for Earth... [Thunder] and for all.

Now, I've already met some of them, but tonight you will get to meet some amazing people, who have done absolutely incredible things to contribute towards climate creativity.

They're doing truly extraordinary work, and we are so proud to celebrate them this evening.

By the end of tonight's ceremony, 20 million pounds will have been awarded in prize grants, helping recipients to achieve the most staggering things.

We've also paved the way to a further 86 million pounds.

Say that number again.

86 million pounds!

Wow.

That's a lot.

And that's from Earthshot partners all around the world.

But this is so much more than just a grant.

That's just scratching the surface.

Earthshot is a growing family of more than 500 organizations working together to bring about change.

As we said, the impact has been enormous, but we want more.

Yes, we do.

We hope you enjoy tonight, but more importantly, we hope it inspires you to think about how you can use your time and talent to help fix the only planet that we call home.

Both: One solution at a time.

Have a wonderful evening.

Siyabonga.

[Cheering and applause] Bonang: Siyabonga.

Thank you so much to Robert and Nomzamo.

There's a lot to look forward to tonight, ladies and gents, but I have a question right now for everybody watching and everybody here with us in the arena.

If you could solve any problem for our planet, what would it be?

Think about that one very carefully.

We'd love to hear what you have to tell us.

Use our official hashtag tonight, #MyEarthshot.

We can't wait to hear from you.

So before we go on, Bonang, I have to say a big thank you for having me here in your country.

It's so beautiful here.

Cape Town is stunning.

Isn't it so beautiful?

It's breathtaking.

I love Cape Town.

Yeah, yeah.

I love Cape Town.

One of my favorite cities in the world.

But I want to know, what has been your favorite part of Cape Town so far, Billy?

Well, first of all, it's my first time in Africa and South Africa at all.

I feel home, I feel grounded here.

The people have welcomed me literally by saying "Welcome home."

I did some... some sustainable fishing.

I went to see Tabletop Mountain, I like to call it.

You know, but we can't stand around here and talk about Cape Town all night.

We can.

We really could... We could.

We could talk about the food...

But we have huge awards to hand out.

And the first one is on the way very, very soon.

Billy: You are watching the Earthshot Prize 2024, coming to you from beautiful Cape Town.

Now, if you've just joined us, where you been?

Ah, don't worry about it.

We've had lots of time to kill before you got here, and we're having a great time.

So as well as tonight's finalists, our audience also includes young African climate leaders from no less than 38 countries... [Cheering and applause] Yes!

and young Asian climate leaders.

[Cheering] Give it up.

And I think they're ready for the first Earthshot Prize of the night.

Right, guys?

[Cheering and applause] Remember to get involved on socials by searching "Earthshot Prize."

Now, Bonang, tell us everything, Ms. Thing.

With absolute pleasure.

Ladies and gentlemen, our first award involves one of the greatest challenges the world is facing right now--climate change.

The finalists and all of tonight's winners have been selected by our Global Prize Council, a group of 12 famous experts who've had a very difficult job.

So to present the Earthshot Prize for Fix Our Climate, we have an absolute icon.

They say you shouldn't judge, but she does it so well.

Please welcome onstage model, actress, and "America's Got Talent" judge, the incredible Heidi Klum.

[Cheering and applause] Hello.

I am so humbled to be here tonight.

Right now, carbon in the atmosphere is making our planet warmer.

The devastating effect of that reality are a major threat to all life on Earth, and we're alarmingly close to the tipping point, but it's not too late to make our world a more sustainable home for all.

Brilliant people around the globe are using their skill and invention to bring us closer to a carbon neutral planet, and thanks to them, we can lower the level of demanding greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

And their amazing work is helping, quite literally, to save the world.

Let's meet the finalists and hear about the incredible things they're doing to fix our climate.

I'm Kelly Adams, CEO of ATS, and I'm going to show you how we convert industrial waste heat directly into electricity in some of the hardest to abate sectors in industry.

The fundamental issue today is that industry lacks the solutions it needs to address waste.

60% of industrial heat is wasted.

In these hard-to-abate industries, heat is a key input for process.

A lot of the industrial clients that we deal with have exposure to turbine technologies for heat to power.

It's a large rotating piece of equipment that's extremely complex.

And so what we're presenting to industry is a simplified, easy-to-operate, no-moving-parts technology that does the work of that turbine.

Man: Something that can turn heat, which is everywhere in every instance, into usable, clean electricity is just mind blowing.

You know, this is a real opportunity to make a difference.

I'm Bjrn Sderberg, and I'm going to show you how we are building safe houses for poor families, using eco-friendly bricks, and changing the construction industry towards a green future through Build up Nepal.

Traditional construction methods is very expensive.

The fire brick industry is responsible for more than 1/3 of the CO2 emissions in Nepal, according to World Bank, and it's one of the major sources of both CO2 emissions, air pollution, and black carbon in whole of South Asia.

This is a massive problem.

Our technology is called interlocking eco bricks.

Our bricks are made from stone dust, or construction waste, mixed with industrial ashes and a little bit of cement.

It can also be made from sand, soil.

Eco bricks is a win-win.

Our walls are 40% cheaper than fire bricks.

They're much stronger in a earthquake, and it has a 75% lower climate footprint.

Every enterprise that we support becomes like a sustainable economic engine in that area.

They're creating jobs to build houses year after year, long after we have left.

My name is Gaurav Sant.

I am the Pritzker Professor of Sustainability at UCLA, a co-founder of Equatic, and I'm going to show you how we're going to remove carbon dioxide from the world's oceans and the atmosphere, using the Equatic process.

The oceans absorb about 30% of all of the carbon dioxide that we emit into the atmosphere, but the absorption of carbon dioxide is very problematic because it causes ocean acidification.

The question that we really set out to answer was, How do we allow absorption and storage of carbon dioxide in the oceans while reversing the effects of acidification?

And we realized that electricity and a well-known industrial process known as electrolysis could be used to do exactly that.

And so what the process allows you to do is to use a simple electrical transduction to remove carbon dioxide not only from the world's oceans but also from the atmosphere, allowing net carbon dioxide removal.

I think it's particularly important that we keep our children in mind, because these effects are only going to get worse if we don't do something about them.

Well, they are all outstanding, but it is time to find out who will receive 1 million pounds to elevate their project.

The Earthshot for Fix Our Climate, it goes to... it goes to Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems.

Congratulations.

[Cheering] [Cheering] Wow.

We're honored.

Thank you very much.

We accept this award on behalf of our unstoppable team at ATS.

We thank Prince William for his brilliant Earthshot team, for their tireless effort, and Herbert Smith Freehills for nominating us to the prize.

A very big thank you to our families as well, who all supported us through this process.

And we want to acknowledge our fellow Earthshot fellows, who work so hard and so tirelessly out there for us.

[Applause] Winning the Earthshot is an incredible honor and a pivotal moment for ATS.

Tonight we're not just celebrating this achievement, we're embracing the responsibility to build a cleaner, more sustainable future for our children and our planet.

At ATS, we've been driven by a simple but powerful vision to turn wasted heat into opportunity.

Our technology is more than just a solution.

It's a paradigm shift.

With the prize and the support from the Earthshot community, we can celebrate our efforts, scale our technology globally, and deliver impact.

Together, all of us together, with urgent optimism, we can redefine what's possible.

Thank you.

[Cheering and applause] Announcer: Please welcome the incredible Diamond Platnumz.

[Cheering and applause] Comment a va, eh Comment a va, na na Aye a va... Say hi, do you believe?

Aye a va, na na Oh Comment a va?

Comment a va?

Comment a va?

Comment a va?

Aye a va Aye a va Aye a va Aye a va Comment a va?

[Indistinct] Zombie hizi beat hazpigwagi Zombie hizi beat hazpigwagi How are you?

How do you say?

Unjani I say Como vai Habari gani Ni hao Asalam alleykum Cmo ests Amigo?

Namaste, say hi Comment a va Comment a va Comment a va Comment a va Aye a va Aye a va, na na Aye a va Aye a va Comment a va?

[Indistinct] Aye, zombie Zombie hizi beat hazpigwagi Zombie hizi beat hazpigwagi [Women singing in native language] [Singing in native language] [Cheering and applause] [Cheering and applause] So many more exhilarating performances coming up right here on the show.

Plus, a little bit later, His Royal Highness Prince William will be taking the stage to chat to us.

I don't think he's gonna sing.

Do you think he's going to sing?

Man: No.

No.

I don't think he's going to sing.

But now it's time for our next award of the evening.

Billy, what do you have for us?

Well, Bonang, things are about to get deep, and I mean real deep, because next we have the Earthshot Prize for Revive Our Oceans.

[Cheering and applause] Yes.

As we all know, almost 3/4 of the Earth's surface is covered by water, so this could not be more important.

To tell us more, we have a brilliant actress who shot to fame as a star of "The Vampire Diaries."

[Cheering and applause] Yes.

When we asked her to present this award, nothing could keep her away, except, well, you know, garlic.

[Mock clears throat] But we gave her permission, and she has arrived.

Please welcome the brilliant Nina Dobrev.

[Cheering and applause] Thank you so much.

I'm so excited to be here in Cape Town for the Earthshot Prize.

It is impossible to overstate how important our oceans are.

They're beautiful, they're intriguing, and, crucially, they are absolutely essential for survival on Earth.

Unfortunately, warm temperatures, huge levels of pollution, and harmful fishing have been having a devastating impact on life underwater.

From dolphins to turtles to the coral reefs to sharks, we're seeing marine life suffer on an unimaginable scale.

The ocean feeds us, and over 3 billion people rely on a healthy ocean for their livelihood.

But it's not all hopeless.

We can create change.

The finalists in this category are doing amazing things to clean up our coastlines, restore the health of our waterways, create blue jobs, and make sure that they thrive for generations to come.

These are the finalists who are finding brilliant solutions to revive our oceans.

I'm Amado Blanco.

And I'm Nick Hill.

We're going to show you how our solutions build the largest supply chain for regenerative seaweeds.

Nick: To revive our oceans and help the people that depend upon it.

Amado: We have a very strong spiritual connection with the ocean.

It's at the heart of the people in the Philippines.

But climate change is impacting the ocean.

We need to conserve, protect, and restore, and seaweed is an integral part of that solution.

Nick: It's a very untapped resource right now with huge potential for growth.

The starter pack that we provide to new farmers includes improved materials, seedlings, and farm production practices.

Once the farmer has harvested their seaweed, they dry it and then it is ready for sale.

Done right, seaweed farming can also play a super important role in helping to restore coastal ecosystems.

Amado: The potential to revive or restore the ocean through regenerative sea farming is big.

My name is Rita El Zaghloul, and I'm going to show you how we're able to mobilize government and bring countries together to boost and protect more nature by 2030.

The ocean is telling us that it is under attack.

Science tells us that the only way of having a healthier future is achieving the protection of at least 30% of our ocean.

We see the HAC as connectors.

We have a matchmaking service, where we connect countries with organizations to make sure that they receive technical and financial assistance.

I think we can protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.

We need to protect ocean by 2030.

Imagine what could be possible for our planet.

I'm Douglas Martin, and I'm going to show you how we are keeping fish in the oceans and keeping waste out of it by producing omega-3s from the by-products of the whiskey industry.

Most people think that fish produce omega-3s, and that's just not true.

They accumulate them from the algae they eat.

Currently, to get the farmed fish the nutrients they need, the farmers are being forced to feed those fish wild caught fish.

And there is an absolute cap to that.

And I think we're starting to see that now.

Without a solution to overfishing, we would crumble that whole ecosystem.

The MiAlgae solution, really, is to take the waste from the whiskey industry to feed an algal cell that grows and grows and grows and multiplies into billions of cells to make our algae rich in omega-3s that can be fed to farmed fish.

For every ton of algae we produce, we save about 30 tons of fish, keeping fish in the oceans and keeping waste out of it.

[Cheering and applause] Nina: All right.

It's time to find out who's won this million-pound prize to boost their work.

The Earthshot for Revive Our Oceans goes to... High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People.

[Cheering and applause] Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you all for being here.

I'm extremely overwhelmed and humbled by this prize.

I want to start by thanking the High Ambition Coalition's team-- Odile, Jason, Domoina, Juliana, Kathrin, Valentina-- their families, and also my family-- And I have my sister here in the room-- for all the support that they give us in order to be able to continue with the work that we do.

Also, to thank our co-chairs, Costa Rica and France, our 120 country members and 62 organizations, especially Campaign for Nature for nominating us.

We face unprecedented extinction crisis, and we have less than six years in order to be able to achieve this goal of protecting at least 30% of our ocean and our land.

We are fully committed, and this extraordinary prize will help us boost and scale up this goal in order to be able to support countries and governments in achieving this goal by 2030.

I want to thank His Royal Highness Prince William for his extraordinary commitment and leadership, and thank the entire team of Earthshot Prize for taking us through, but really wanted to thank the 14 other finalists that have become my family.

I am in awe of the work that you do, and I commit to continue working tirelessly with the team of the HAC in order to make 30x30 a reality.

Thank you very much.

[Cheering and applause] Announcer: Please welcome the incredible Uncle Waffles.

[Cheering and applause] [Singing in native language] [Singing in native language] 1, 2, 1, 2, 3... [Cheering and applause] Bonang: Let's hear it for Uncle Waffles!

Billy: Oh, yes!

Bonang: Yes, man... My goodness!

and her incredible vocalists, PCee and Sage.

Whazza, whazza, whazza, whazza, what!

Oh, I can't get the beat out of my body.

These are the best waffles since I had this morning, honey.

We hope you're enjoying the Earthshot Prize so far.

[Cheering and applause] Yes.

Go ahead.

Yes.

Applaud.

[Applause] You can find even more action over on our socials.

And remember, we want to know if you could solve any problem for our planet, what would it be?

Tell us using the hashtag #MyEarthshot.

OK, there's still a lot more to come, so let's keep this energy going.

Yes.

We're loving it.

We love it.

We love it.

Thank you very much.

But I think it's time for us to do some trash talk.

What do you say?

Ooh!

I love it.

Who don't we like?

No, man, not that kind of trash talk.

I mean another.

We'll do that later.

Another kind of trash talk.

OK.

I knew that.

Ha ha!

Earthshot Prize.

Our bad.

Next category for the evening is Build a Waste-Free World, Billy.

Ooh, I totally knew that.

Did you really?

Mm-hmm.

And now to present the award, we have a very big star from the United States of America.

Oh.

Why, thank you, my darling.

Oh, my darling, not you.

Another one.

Ha ha!

I totally knew that, too.

He is an Emmy- and Grammy- nominated artist from Texas and of Nigerian descent.

So please let's make him feel at home.

Please put your hands together, onstage, the brilliant Tobe Nwigwe.

[Cheering and applause] What's going down, Cape Town?

[Cheering and applause] Thank you, Earthshot, for having me.

Thank you, Prince William.

Listen, I really don't do this, but if y'all could, make some noise for my wife.

She's pregnant.

[Cheering and applause] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm lying about that.

[Laughter] No, but it's good.

It's a good icebreaker.

Yeah.

Now y'all are more open to what I'm about to say about this award.

Yeah.

And I feel comfortable now.

Yeah.

I love you, Fat.

All right.

In nature, things that get left over from one process always become the raw materials for another, every single time.

Nothing ever goes to waste, and there's a lot that we can learn from that.

So much of what we use as human beings gets thrown away, piled in a landfill, or dumped into the sea, and it's doing huge harm to the planet.

But we can turn this around.

But to do it, we need to eliminate all unnecessary waste.

We need to build solutions that help create a zero-waste world, where we can reuse, repurpose and recycle everything.

So let's hear about the finalists in this category and the amazing things that they're doing to help us build a waste-free world.

[Cheering and applause] I'm Ninna Granucci, and I will show how to stop food waste by using the power of fermentation.

I was doing a Ph.D. in biotech.

I always wanted to do something with fermentation because for me, fermentation is magic.

There was this realization of the amount of food waste that's produced.

I had an idea that fermentation could be a solution.

If we think about milk and then you see so many types of cheese, or if you think about the grape juice and then you think about wine, it's fermentation.

So you can use in so many industries as a really sustainable natural solution.

And what we are doing is actually keeping food as food, producing ingredients that are better for you and better for the planet.

I'm Francis Nderitu, and we are Keep IT Cool.

And I'm going to show you how we are reducing food waste in rural Africa through affordable cold storage and logistics.

I've always waited for this.

Man: Ready to roll.

We are sitting in the middle of the world's largest desert lake.

The ambient temperatures can be as high as 40 degrees.

Instead of staying two days in the lake fishing, fisherfolk end up staying weeks to get the same fish that they caught maybe ten years ago.

And with global temperatures going up, this can only get worse for these communities here.

We have to present sustainable solutions to reduce the impact of rising global temperatures.

I'm very proud that we are disrupting the fish value chain by bringing in a business invention process that is making fish distribution with 98% more efficiency.

I'm happy that I'm at the forefront of helping communities to be more resilient, adaptive, and basically ready to face the future.

I'm Luke Haverhals.

We're at NFW.

Today we're going to show you how to make consumer goods at scale from plants, not plastic.

The world we live in, trillions of dollars of clothes, shoes, interiors of cars are made from plastic.

They're not just wasteful, they're toxic.

One day I was working with some hemp fiber.

What I observed was the fibers wanted to stick, and I had this sort of epiphany that plastics do one thing really well.

You can mold them and shape them into about anything.

And if you can mold and shape with natural materials, then humans all of a sudden can fit back in the original circular economy of life.

It turns out that that idea is such a world-changing idea, it needed to leave the university and become a business.

We're creating materials for world-leading footwear brands, automotive brands, bag and accessory brands, clothing brands.

We're helping them make products that are waste-free, that are plastic-free, that aren't dependent on fossil fuels.

Those are all brilliant solutions to real problems.

But now it's time to reveal who's won and will be splitting their million pounds with me, my wife and my five children.

[Laughter] No, I'm just playing.

The Earthshot for Build a Waste-Free World goes to... Keep IT Cool.

[Cheering and applause] [Cheering continues] Thank you, everyone.

Good evening.

I would like to thank God for the health and opportunity to get us here.

[Cheering and applause] I would also like to thank my family for their unwavering support and our investors, some of them in the room... [Cheering] and finally, our nominators, Katapult Ocean and DRK Foundation.

I would like also to acknowledge fellow finalists for the amazing work they are doing in their respective ventures.

We are all in one marathon, running for different causes but with the same purpose-- to save Mother Planet.

[Cheering and applause] But we Kenyans.

We had to win.

[Loud cheering and applause] But seriously, though, a big shout-out to the Earthshot Prize family for this platform and bringing it closer to home.

I'd like to thank the Keep IT Cool team in Kenya and Uganda for making this happen.

[Cheering] You did it, guys.

And we thank you for being able to ensure that through our pipeline, we're able to enable that.

Through our pipeline, we are able to be... able to reduce food loss.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

[Cheering and applause] We still got lots to go, including wonderful music.

isn't it time for another award?

It is indeed, ladies and gentlemen.

It is the Earthshot Prize for Protect & Restore Nature.

Now, the natural world around us is our greatest ally in the fight against climate change.

But our growing human footprint threatens it like never before.

Fortunately, people across the globe are forming initiatives which could really protect it.

This is another massive award, and here to reveal our amazing winner, we have an amazing Winnie.

Please welcome onstage supermodel Winnie Harlow.

[Cheering and applause] Good evening, everyone.

How are we feeling?

[Cheering and applause, Winnie chuckles] Humans rely on nature for everything.

But for too long, we've taken it for granted.

We take without giving back.

And as a result, entire species are facing extinction.

Not only is that a huge tragedy in itself, but destroying nature threatens our lives, too.

But we can make different choices.

There's still time to repair and preserve the habitats that our animals need to live.

From rainforests and grasslands to wetlands, lakes, and rivers, we can end the destruction of our vital, beautiful wildlife.

And by doing that, we can ensure that for the first time in human history, the natural world around us grows rather than shrinks.

Because when nature thrives, people thrive.

Here are the three finalists doing remarkable things to protect and restore nature.

I'm Vera Voronova, and I will show you how we conserving and restoring an prehistoric landscape with modern technologies, local knowledge, and global partnership.

The saiga, its population has fluctuated many times, but in the nineties, it was significantly reduced because of illegal poaching.

2004, the number of saiga were only 20,000 animals left.

The situation was critical, so the government of Kazakhstan, together with international partners, joined together to establish Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative.

We do now have 2.8 million of the saiga across the whole country.

I think the priority now is to think on the future, and this is our focus-- to bring in resources for the local communities to work with their young generation.

[Speaking native language] Yo me llamo Uyunkar Domingo Peas Nampichkai.

Soy de la comunidad Achuar Sharamentsa.

Hemos vivido, pero an tenemos bosque en pie intacta.

Eso les voy a demostrar.

Necesitamos... proteger la Amazona porque la Amazona es vida.

La gran amenaza que tenemos es la extraccin petrolera, minera, maderera.

No conocen esta conexin espiritual.

No respetan a la Madre Tierra.

Lo que Cuencas Sagradas plantea es la estrategia de buen vivir, el desarollo alternativo, una economa basada en la naturaleza.

La unidad es la unica esperanza para nuestro futuro.

Es ah donde vamos tener resultados exitosos.

I'm Kat Bruce, the founder of NatureMetrics, and we're going to show you how we use eDNA to make biodiversity truly measurable at scale.

We're losing the foundational aspects of our biodiversity.

We're losing the invertebrates.

We're losing our soil biodiversity.

And these are the bits of nature and biodiversity that are often almost invisible.

And they're not at the forefront of our mind, but without them, we have nothing else.

Before eDNA, you're relying on a person seeing or hearing and being able to identify each individual of each species.

Today, we have a team of data scientists to turn all of that data into visualizations so that it's easy to understand to help take action.

We are here by the grace of nature, and that's not something we should take for granted.

[Cheering and applause] Winnie: Wow!

Incredible work.

Congratulations to the finalists.

They've all done brilliant, brilliant work.

And now it's time to reveal the winner.

The Earthshot Prize for Protect & Restore Nature goes to... Altyn Dala Conservation.

[Cheering and applause] Let's give a hand.

Let's give a hand.

Whoo!

Let's give a hand.

[Applause] Congratulations.

Thanks, Earthshot Prize.

I cannot believe.

Despite all challenges of biodiversity and climate crisis that we are facing, I still remain both optimistic and hopeful.

And why?

Because whenever we make a peace with nature, give her space and time, she has incredible capacity to restore and recover herself.

And the remarkable recovery of the saiga antelope in Kazakhstan is the evidence of this.

With protecting landscape and working on the training program, this demonstrates both the power of nature and power of partnership.

I am honored to receive the prize on behalf of Altyn Dala partners-- the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan and civil society organizations-- ACBK, Fauna & Flora International, Frankfurt Zoological Society, and RSPB.

This prize recognize all hard work for the last two decades for everyone involved-- decision makers, scientists, rangers, teachers.

For this unique opportunity, we would like to thank the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration for nominating us, the Earthshot Prize for choosing us, and to Prince William for the such strong voice for nature conservation by creating this prize.

I congratulate all finalists.

And see your solutions, it's not only make me hopeful but strongly believe for the future-- for the future--better future of our planet.

Thank you!

[Cheering and applause] We're still having a great time right here in Cape Town, South Africa, tonight, but we are not done yet.

In just a few minutes, Earthshot Prize founder His Royal Highness Prince William will be joining us onstage with a very special message.

Yes, he will!

it's time for the final award of the evening.

It is, indeed.

Now, this award is about solutions to clean our air.

It's another big prize, so we have a big man to do the job.

It's time to release the Beast.

Ooh!

Please welcome onstage Springbok Rugby World Cup winner Tendai "The Beast" Mtawarira.

[Cheering and applause] Tendai Mtawarira: Good evening.

Crowd: Beast!

Ah, thank you for the wonderful reception.

It's an honor to be here with all of you.

All over the world, millions of people breathe toxic air every day.

It causes countless deaths, made even more tragic by the fact that so many of them could be prevented.

Fortunately, extraordinary work is being done to bring about a change.

Clean air and healthier lives are within our grasp.

But more needs to be done if we are to make that dream a reality forever.

We need to eliminate fossil fuels, remove pollution from our skies, and choose 100% renewable energy for everybody.

It won't be easy, but that's what makes the people like the finalists in this category so exceptional.

Let's hear more about the incredible things they're doing to clean our air.

I'm Ron Pfende from d.light.

This film is going to show you how we are bringing energy access to millions of people across the world.

The problem is significant.

In sub-Saharan Africa, there are 600 million people without access to energy.

With kerosene, there is safety issues, there's thick black fumes.

And from a sustainability perspective, you are burning fossil fuels.

People are now looking to say, How do we attack this problem head-on?

The d.light solution, which is solar, renewable, and actually offers a grid light experience.

It's a way we create solutions that solve this problem.

I think if you speak to any African, you may have one foot in the city, but you got a foot in the village.

You understand their life and the lack of access to light and how it impacts that.

Now it is time to say there is no reason why there are people that don't have access to energy now.

My name is Desmond Alugnoa, and I'm going to show you how we are revolutionizing waste management to create cleaner air at GAYO.

I grew up in northern Ghana.

The air was cleaner.

We felt really good.

When I first moved to Accra, there was a very big shock.

People are burning car tires.

People are burning electronic waste.

It's a chaotic space.

People have little to no awareness about how this can cause immediate health problems.

We created a model that rests on three pillars-- waste management, education, and innovation.

As the world sees waste, GAYO sees an opportunity.

GAYO sees an opportunity to make a leap.

GAYO sees an opportunity to create jobs and an opportunity to ensure just inclusion.

Innovate!

Innovate!

Man: We are MYCL.

Let me show you how we turn agroforestry waste into sustainable alternatives for leather made out of mushroom mycelium.

I live in a place that's supposed to be the lung of the Earth, with 100 million hectares of rainforest, but, unfortunately, every year, 100 million tons of CO2 emissions are emitted from burning agri-crop waste.

So we saw problems and opportunities as two sides of the same coin.

We asked the farmers not to burn their waste but sell it to us so we can process it to grow leather-like materials with mushrooms.

we can create any wearable objects that usually use leather.

We can replace it with Mylea.

It looks like leather.

It's natural like leather, but it's not leather.

It's mycelium.

It's better.

[Applause] Those are all incredible projects.

But the time has come to reveal the winner of the 1-million-pound prize.

And I'm delighted to announce the Earthshot for Clean Our Air goes to... GAYO--Green Africa Youth Organization.

[Cheering and applause] Congratulations.

[Cheering and applause continues] Oh, thank you.

First of all, thank you to God Almighty for this day.

[Cheering and applause] About five years ago, GAYO was progressing but very slowly, and I had to make a tough decision to return from Germany.

And a lot of people said that was a crazy idea.

But we believed that the best solutions, the best minds are normally the ones who are closer to the problem.

Thank you to the Earthshot Prize team.

Thank you, Prince William, for endorsing our dream.

We want to thank the Clean Air Fund, our nominator.

We want to thank our partners, who have worked tirelessly with us, especially the incredible team of waste pickers we work with across Africa.

[Cheering and applause] I want to bring all of you greetings from my co-founder and executive director, Joshua, who was not able to be with us here, but he's with us in heart.

And I want to say a big thank you to GAIA, our alliance, the Global Methane Hub, the UMI Fund, and the districts that have been working with us in Ghana and also in Uganda.

This is to the youth of Africa.

This is to the youth in the world.

[Cheering] Billy: And so we have our 2024 Earthshot Prize winners.

Give them a hand.

[Cheering and applause] Each and every one of them gives us hope for a brighter future, so let's have another huge round of applause for them and all of our brilliant finalists.

Keep it going, keep it going, keep it going!

Keep it going.

We love the energy.

Now they join a growing family of winners and finalists, who continue to be supported by the Earthshot Prize.

We cannot wait to see what they will achieve in the years to come.

And, of course, we are not the only ones.

Please welcome onstage the founder and president of the Earthshot Prize, His Royal Highness Prince William.

[Cheering] Good evening, and hello to everyone joining us live across Africa.

Sanibonani.

[Cheering and applause] Dumelang.

[Cheering continues] Ekabo.

Sannu.

Akwaaba.

We are delighted to have you with us for the fourth annual Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony from the beautiful city of Cape Town.

[Cheering] As with every trip to Africa, I have received the most warm and generous welcome over the last few days.

When I founded the Earthshot Prize in 2020, my ambition was to champion the spirit of ingenuity that put a man on the moon within ten years.

Our aim was to find solutions to repair our planet and provide real hope for the future.

We want to make this the decade in which we transform the world for good, one solution at a time from the ground up.

It was an idea that first came to me on African soil.

During a trip to Namibia and Tanzania, I was lucky enough to see some of the stunning wildlife that calls this continent home.

But what really struck me was the incredible impact local people were having on the environment around them.

Thanks to their ingenuity and creativity, biodiversity was returning, animals were being protected, and jobs were being created.

I saw firsthand the extent to which people were dedicating their time, talent, and vision to fixing environmental challenges.

But they weren't getting the support they needed to speed their solutions to scale or to have them replicated worldwide.

However, I believe our world can be rich in possibility, in hope, and in optimism.

That is why the Earthshot Prize exists-- to champion the game changers, the inventors, the makers, the creatives, the leaders, to help them build upon the amazing things they've already achieved, to speed their innovations to scale, and to inspire the next generation to create the future we all need.

The sense of optimism I first witnessed on that trip to Namibia planted a seed that brought us here today.

So I'm delighted to see the Earthshot Prize return to the continent where it all started, the continent... [Cheering and applause] the continent that despite contributing the least to global warming is amongst the most vulnerable to its impact.

Since we began, we've received over 5,000 nominations.

Each of those solutions tell a story of hope and possibility.

In 2024 alone, nearly 400 were conceived here in Africa.

Each of those solutions should be seen as a reminder that Africa is a hub of creativity and innovation that will solve our planet's toughest environmental challenges.

[Cheering and applause] To that end, the Earthshot Prize isn't just a celebration of winners.

It's a collaborative movement for change.

And I now invite you to join the movement for climate innovation that's happening around the world.

Because that's why we're here-- to champion the dreamers, the thinkers, and the innovators from every walk of life who share an ambition to build a better, more sustainable world.

We'll do everything we can to support them and help speed their solutions to scale.

Because when they succeed, we all succeed.

When they thrive, we all thrive.

And when they win, we all win.

Dankie.

[Cheering and applause] Enkosi.

Daalu.

Asante.

Thank you.

[Cheering continues] Thank you very much to His Royal Highness Prince William.

That's it from us.

Can you believe it?

I cannot.

But remember, this is just the beginning for all our winners and, of course, our finalists.

We really hope tonight has inspired you to think about the things you can do to help our planet.

A massive thanks to our special guests and a huge congratulations to all of our finalists.

They remind us that we all have the power to change the world for the better.

Absolutely.

We'll leave you now with a very special something.

Performing their version of an absolute classic, please welcome back onstage the amazing Ndlovu Youth Choir.

From myself and Billy...

Both: Good night!

Thanks for joining us.

[Cheering] [Singing in native language] Woza wethu we Africa Khayalethu iafrica Woza wethu we Africa Sihlangane sonke maafrica I hear the drums echoing tonight But she hears only whispers Of some quiet conversation He turned to me as if to say "Hurry, boy, it's waiting there for you" Ilanga le kundla ma africa yebo It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Oh yele bo Gonna take some time to do The things we never had Woza wethu we Africa Oh, Africa Oh yele bo Ah mama ye, mama ye ye ye Mah mama ye Mah mama ye, mama ye ye ye Mah mama ye Ooh hoo la moo Mah mama ye Mama ye ye ye Mah mama ye Mah mama ye Mama ye ye ye Mah mama ye Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do The things we never had Woza wethu we Africa [Cheering and applause]