The Earthshot Prizes are coming up again.
They are being handed out in Rio de Janeiro this year. Quite a trek ... what's the climate impact of that? I use them as an example of hopeful action with Y8 groups at the end of a unit on fairness and inequality which draws on the work of Hans Rosling and others.
At our heart is the simple equation: Urgency + Optimism = Action.
Scientists, leaders, and communities have long made clear that the threats to nature and climate are real and pressing. But alongside the warnings are reasons for genuine optimism.
By spotlighting the best examples of climate leadership and problem-solving from around the world, we show that the answers to these problems exist.
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There are five categories to the prizes, which each receive one million pounds. There are 3 nominees from the thousands of initial applications. They are organised into five categories:
- Protect and Restore Nature
- Clean our Air
- Revive our Oceans
- Build a Waste-Free World
- Fix our Climate
Here are all the winners to date.
When looking for hopeful geographies, the winners of the prize would make good case studies to investigate by students.
Mukuru Clean Stoves are one innovation we look at with my students. They offer an excellent example of how one person from a low income household (what Hans Rosling would call Level 2) can have a positive impact on millions of lives.
The company, which was founded by Charlot Magayi who had a less-than-straightforward childhood looked at changing an activity which involves hundreds of millions of women, and causes them harm as well having wider social, economic and environmental impacts.
Having previously only operated in three different markets, Mukuru is now in six markets, including an expansion into Ghana and Nigeria. In the last year, the company sold almost 170,000 new clean cookstoves, more than double the amount sold in the previous year.
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