Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 15 : With Mumbai set to host the 2026 edition of the Earthshot Prize, anticipation is building around the global platform that celebrates innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges. 
Among the 15 finalists shortlisted for this year's prize are changemakers and innovators whose work is driving meaningful impact across the sustainability landscape. 
As they prepare for the prestigious event, the finalists reflect on their journeys, the significance of being recognised on a global stage, and their hopes for the future of the planet.
Finalist Jodi Hilty, President and Chief Scientist of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, told ANI, "We are working on protecting a region in North America three times the size of California. What we are able to show is that by protecting nature and addressing climate change through nature itself at scale, it can make a difference across the world." "It is incredibly inspiring what is happening in India. Thirty years ago, we thought tigers were going extinct; India is one of those countries that buckled up, and we have seen tigers truly come back in India. In so many ways, India is a leader in conservation, and in a challenging place where there are so many more people than in Canada, it is truly inspirational."

'Revive Our Oceans' finalist Coral Pasisi, Trustee of the Niue Ocean Wide Trust, further shared, "Our initiative is about protecting a very large part of the ocean in the heart of the 'blue lung' of the planet, in the Pacific Ocean. We have worked out a sustainable financing mechanism for that, because long-term protection needs long-term finance. We hope other countries and communities can replicate this model so we can deliver on ocean finance not as an economic burden, but as a positive benefit for our communities and countries." "India is an extremely important stakeholder and home to Earthshot's most finalists. With India's ingenuity, technology, and drive focused on protecting the ocean, cleaning the air, and low-carbon futures, India can be a global game-changer for us all..."

'Clean Our Air' finalist Franco, co-founder and CEO of Satellites on Fire, said, "Wildfires are growing globally, and smoke can affect areas thousands of kilometres away. Over 2 billion people are exposed every year to harmful wildfire smoke, causing 1.5 million deaths. This is a global problem that is getting much harder to solve every time. What Earthshot provides us in terms of visibility, attention, connections, and collaboration is great. For a company like ours, which we started when we were 16 after personally experiencing the wildfire problem, this is an amazing opportunity to broadcast how we turned our solution into a global impact..."

Chief architect of the Barcelona City Council, Maria Buhigas added, "We are very glad to be here as finalists. Reviving our oceans is not just one thing the Art Short Prize is doing. So are all the other categories and their overall efforts for environmental protection and climate change action. I think that there are very interesting projects in all of them. Because what is relevant is targeted action and specific actions towards climate change and real sustainability, and this is what you will see this year in different categories: for the forest, for air pollution improvement and other categories.”

Managing Director at the Centre for Green Market Activation, Ingrid Irigoyen further said, "Different countries are taking different approaches. A source of optimism and enthusiasm right now is the prioritisation we see by the Indian government of maritime decarbonization as an economic opportunity. India has tremendous opportunities to produce clean fuels, low-carbon fuels that can be used in many different applications, including in the maritime industry. And so we're really hopeful that through our project, we can help stimulate sufficient corporate demand for those solutions to be able to not only decarbonise this very important part of the global value chain, but also create economic opportunity around the world."

Finalist Helen reflected on the health and environment crisis due to chemicals, adding, “The forever chemicals are the next huge health and environment crisis, and we need to fight that with the big coalition. We made it in France, but we need every country to ban the Forever Chemicals... We think that we developed a unique model with the union and the coalition of NGOs, of activists, of members of the parliament, and I think to succeed, to change laws and to climate change, to fight climate change, we need to be a coalition and we encourage everyone to do that."

Chairman of Mother Earth Foundation, Philippines, Sonia Mendoza described the opportunity as a great honour, stating, “It's been a great honour for Mother Earth Foundation to be a finalist in the Earthshot Prize. We have been doing our zero waste work since 1998 in the Philippines, and we hope with the Earthshot Prize we will be able to scale it up.”

From PULA Advisors, Fiona Hoffman shared, “We're an AgTech and climate data risk intelligence company. We operate in 12 countries across Africa and have protected more than 24 million farmers against climate shocks. We've also protected more than 2.8 billion dollars invested in the agriculture sector..."

Chief Development Officer at Orsted, Amanda Dash, stated, "We are a finalist in the Fix Our Climate category... one of the reasons we're nominated in this category is because energy makes up around 73% of total carbon emissions on this planet. The dedication that our company has made, from moving to one of the most polluting energy utilities in Europe to a purely renewables-dedicated business, demonstrates the change that can happen. And we are seeing in many other countries a move towards renewables..."

Director, Department of Forests and Park Services, Government of Bhutan, Karma Tenzin says, "We are nominated in the restore and protect nature category... It's actually clearly mentioned in the Constitution of Bhutan; Article 5 of our Constitution actually states that we have to maintain 60% forests at all times."

Executive Director at Mahila Housing Trust Bijal Brahmbhatt shared, “We are a finalist in the Fix Our Climate category... I'm really happy that this year the government of India has recognised heat legally as a disaster, which means more money will be flowing towards reducing heat. I think, worldwide, the challenge in climate action is between mitigation and adaptation..."

Amid the growing anticipation for the upcoming edition of Earthshot Prize awards, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Kate Middleton, are set to undertake their first joint overseas visit since the Princess announced her cancer diagnosis. 
Besides the awards ceremony, the couple are also expected to attend a series of engagements in India.
Kensington Palace announced on November 14 that the royal couple would visit Mumbai to attend the 2026 Earthshot Prize ceremony, scheduled to take place on November 17, along with other engagements highlighting environmental innovation and the longstanding relationship between India and the United Kingdom.