It’s that time of year again! No, not pumpkin spice season—though we love that too—but the moment when the world’s brightest eco-innovators gather to prove that saving the planet is just another Tuesday for them. Enter the Earthshot Prize Nominations, a royal brainchild courtesy of Prince William, now in its fourth year. It’s like the Oscars of environmentalism, but with fewer speeches and more actual planet-saving. This year, 15 finalists are vying for the ultimate green thumbs-up, showcasing groundbreaking solutions that might just make Earth a bit more habitable. Let’s dive in, shall we?

In the race to heal our ailing planet, 15 finalists from around the globe have emerged, each with an Earthshot Prize-worthy solution. From the depths of the Amazon to the tech labs of the UK, this year’s candidates are no ordinary green warriors.

These are innovators, visionaries, and—let’s face it—heroes walking amongst men, vying for the title (and £1 million) to supercharge their efforts. As Prince William himself put it, “we celebrate the incredible achievement, unwavering dedication, and urgent optimism…The passion of these finalists is a testament to what can be achieved when we tap into the enormous creativity, ingenuity, and optimism of communities around the world.”

Without further ado, let’s meet the Earthshot Prize 2024 finalists, category by category.

(The countries in bracket are the finalists’ area of impact)

Protect and Restore Nature

In the “earth whisperer” category, we have:

• Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance (Ecuador): A team of 30 indigenous nations standing tall—like, 86 million acres of Amazon rainforest tall—to protect their homeland from the chainsaws of deforestation. No small feat when you’re defending the world’s largest tropical rainforest.
• NatureMetrics (UK): Think CSI, but for the environment. This British start-up uses DNA sampling to monitor biodiversity. Their goal? To make it as easy as possible for everyone to spy on nature’s inhabitants. No privacy laws for the trees here.
• Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative (Kazakhstan): Remember the Saiga antelope? Probably not, because they were nearly extinct. But thanks to Altyn Dala, these funky, snout-faced creatures are making a comeback.

Clean Our Air

Breathing easy in this category are:

• GAYO (Ghana): This youth-led African group is waging war on waste with their “zero waste model,” determined to reshape how Africa thinks about trash. They’re aiming to clean up, quite literally, while inspiring behavioral change.
• d.light (Pan-Africa): Tired of polluting kerosene lamps? So are they. This company’s solar home systems are lighting up lives and homes across Africa, and they’ve set an ambitious goal: to impact one billion people.
• MYCL (Indonesia): By turning mushroom roots into materials that could replace leather, MYCL is fighting pollution from crop burning and toxic leather production. Vegan leather? Check. Clean air? Double-check.

Revive Our Oceans

The sea change makers are:

• High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (Global): With a name like that, expectations are high, and rightly so. This global alliance of 119 countries aims to protect 30% of our oceans (and land) by 2030. Talk about #SquadGoals.
• MiAlgae (UK): Fish oil supplements may be good for you, but not so great for the oceans. MiAlgae found a way to source Omega-3 from algae instead of fish. Fish everywhere are sighing in relief.
• Coast 4C (Philippines): This social enterprise is all about seaweed—lots of it. They’re building the world’s largest supply of regenerative seaweed while helping marginalized coastal communities. Talk about a “kelpful” initiative.

Build a Waste-Free World

Eco-champions making trash a thing of the past:

• Natural Fiber Welding (USA): Plastic? Never heard of her. This company creates biodegradable natural fibers with wide applications, from fashion to automotive. The future is fiber, my friends.
• Ferment’Up (France): What do you do with the skins and seeds of fruits and veggies? Ferment them, of course! This French company turns food waste into something delicious (or at least useful). Très chic!
• Keep It Cool (Kenya): In a world where food spoils in the heat, solar-powered refrigeration is a game-changer. Keep It Cool offers just that and connects farmers and fishers to online markets. Cool? Yes. Pun intended.

Fix Our Climate

Finally, the climate repairers:

• Equatic (USA): Carbon dioxide doesn’t stand a chance with this company’s seawater electrolysis process. They’re removing CO2 from the ocean 99,000 times faster than nature could on its own. Take that, global warming.
• Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems (USA): Excess heat from industrial processes is now a thing of the past. This company turns that leftover heat into electricity, proving once again that one man’s waste is another man’s power source.
• Build Up Nepal (Nepal): If bricks could talk, these earthquake-resilient, low-carbon beauties would have quite the story to tell. Build Up Nepal is literally building a better, more sustainable future—one brick at a time.

On November 6th in Cape Town, Prince William will crown the five winners of Earthshot Prize 2024, each pocketing a cool £1 million to turn their eco-dreams into reality. But really, with innovations like these, isn’t the planet the real winner? Stay tuned to see who takes the crown—and the title!