Prince William’s Earthshot Prize announced its 15 finalists on September 18, bringing wildlife corridors, wildfire detection and protection from extreme heat into the same competition. Five winners will receive £1 million each at the awards ceremony in Mumbai on November 17.
The announcement is a shortlist, not the award of 15 cash prizes. Each finalist will receive support through the Earthshot network, while one winner in each of the five categories receives the £1 million funding to expand its work.
William, the prize’s founder and president, said in the official announcement that seeing environmental solutions succeed gives people confidence to act. The 2026 selection includes community organisations, public authorities and major businesses, rather than only new technology companies.
The full 2026 shortlist
The official finalist directory groups the 15 entries under five environmental goals:
- Protect and Restore Nature: Bhutan; Indigenous Desert Alliance; Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.
- Clean Our Air: AirQo; Mahindra Last Mile Mobility; Satellites on Fire.
- Revive Our Oceans: Niue Ocean Wide Trust; the City of Barcelona; Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance, or ZEMBA.
- Build a Waste-free World: Mother Earth Foundation; PFAS-Free France; South Korea Zero Waste Movement Network.
- Fix Our Climate: Mahila Housing Trust; Ørsted; Pula.
Wildlife needs routes between protected places
The Yellowstone to Yukon profile describes a conservation effort across a 2,100-mile mountain region in Canada and the United States. Its central problem is fragmentation: a protected park cannot meet every animal’s needs if roads and development cut it off from the next suitable habitat.
The initiative works with Indigenous Nations, governments, scientists, communities and industry. Wildlife overpasses and underpasses help animals cross roads, while land protection and conservation agreements help keep wider routes open.
Earthshot says the initiative and its partners have supported more than 200 wildlife crossings. Its stated 2030 ambitions include at least 50 additional crossings and support for protecting another 20 million hectares. Those are future targets, distinct from work already completed.
Detecting a fire is only the first step
Argentina’s Satellites on Fire combines thermal satellite imagery with other information, including cameras, weather and lightning data, to identify fires and send alerts to responders. Its founders began the project in 2020 after witnessing the effects of wildfires on people they knew.
Earthshot’s profile reports coverage across 21 countries and says Argentina’s National Firefighters Council adopted the platform at 70 stations. These are figures published by the prize programme; this article has not independently audited the company’s performance.
The value of an alert lies in whether someone can act on it. Early warning and firefighting capacity are related but different needs: detecting a blaze does not guarantee that crews, access routes or equipment will be available to contain it.
Making homes cooler and incomes more secure
India’s Mahila Housing Trust addresses heat through reflective roof coatings, community training and climate insurance. Its profile reports direct support for 36,500 cool roofs and insurance reaching 49,000 women in Delhi and Gujarat.
The insurance model uses measured temperature thresholds to trigger payments, rather than requiring each household to prove a particular financial loss. It addresses a different problem from roof cooling: income can disappear when conditions become too dangerous to work.
The project illustrates why environmental adaptation can involve several measures at once. A cooler home may improve living conditions, while financial support addresses disruption to earnings. Neither measure should be described as eliminating the threat from extreme heat.
What is different about this selection?
Earthshot says this year’s selection uses a framework developed with the University of Exeter around positive tipping points: changes that can gather momentum as adoption increases, costs fall or successful policies spread.
That is a way of assessing potential, not a guarantee that every finalist will transform its sector. The projects’ future results will depend on evidence, funding and adoption beyond the awards stage.
Filmmaker Karan Johar is confirmed as host for the Mumbai ceremony. The five winners are due to be named on November 17, when the distinction between finalist recognition and the cash awards will become final.