Prince William is taking his prestigious Earthshot Prize environmental awards to India this year – one of the most polluted countries on the planet.
The heir to the throne, who is now half-way through his ten-year project to highlight and scale-up the most innovative solutions to the climate crisis, will bring the initiative to the bustling ‘megacity’ of Mumbai.
It will bring together environmental and business leaders with investors and philanthropists, as five award winners each accept winning prize pots of £1 million.
Earthshot is the future king’s biggest initiative on the global stage and one that he hopes will leave a lasting legacy.
It follows on from last year’s event in Rio de Janeiro. Other awards ceremonies have been held in Cape Town, Singapore, Boston and London.
One of the reasons the prince was so keen to take the awards to India is that it is home to more finalists and award-winners than any other country.
He also believes that despite its pollution issues, India is proving that environmental responsibility can drive economic growth, facilitating everything from clean energy and new technology to nature restoration.
Prince William says the next Earthshot Prize awards ceremony will be held in India – after hosting them in Brazil last year (pictured planting a tree there in 2025)
The awards will be held in Mumbai, one of the world’s most polluted cities (pictured: the Prince and Princess of Wales visiting Mumbai in 2016)
The Earthshot Prize is a 10-year project spearheaded by the Prince of Wales to showcase and support innovative solutions to the climate crisis (pictured at last year’s awards in Brazil)
Prince William is pictured visiting Earthshot Prize 2025 finalist Matter in Bristol last month
Announcing the 2026 host city, William said: ‘We must continue to look to the future with urgency and optimism, which is why I am delighted that Mumbai will host The Earthshot Prize 2026.
‘India is one of the world’s most important forces for climate and nature. What succeeds in India at scale has the power to inspire progress everywhere.
‘With the largest population of young people in the world, there is a real sense of momentum – to not only imagine a better future, but to inspire change and make it a reality.
‘Together we can rise to meet our greatest challenge, to repair and restore our planet by 2030.’
Chief Minister of Maharashtra – the state home to Mumbai – Devendra Fadnavis said: ‘The Earthshot Prize is the world’s most prestigious environmental award and I’m proud to announce that it will be hosted in Mumbai in November.
‘Sustainability and climate action remain top priorities for Maharashtra, and The Earthshot Prize will create global attention for India’s leadership and commitment to turning our goals into meaningful action on the ground.’
The unveiling of Mumbai as the host city took place at a special event during the city’s inaugural Climate Action Week.
Leaders from science, business, politics and the arts heard from previous Earthshot Finalists from India on how they are scaling solutions to repair and restore the planet.
Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 ‘Moonshot’ to land a man on the moon within a decade, The Earthshot Prize was founded by Prince William in 2020 to spark the same spirit of collective ambition and action for our planet.
This year’s Prize will shine a global spotlight on 15 groundbreaking environmental solutions, under five categories developed in collaboration with leading environmental experts: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-Free World; and Fix our Climate.
Now five years into the Earthshot decade, the Prize has identified more than 5,600 emerging environmental innovations from 156 countries – including over 2,400 in 2025 alone – recognised and supported 75 Finalists and awarded £25 million to Prize Winners to scale their solutions.