On Saturday, October 4, the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF) announced its selection as a finalist for the 2025 Earthshot Prize. Founded by Prince William in 2020, the prize recognizes initiatives that protect and restore nature and address the planet’s most pressing issues.
Described as the most ambitious financial innovation in history for forests, the TFFF is a new mechanism led by the Government of Brazil that assigns real economic value to standing forests by redefining how forest protection financing is structured. Developed with the support of ten countries from both the Global South and the Global North, as well as representatives of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), the initiative will be officially launched at COP30.
The fund offers tropical countries long-term incentives to maintain their forest conservation efforts. The TFFF aims to establish a USD 125 billion global investment fund — composed of USD 25 billion in sovereign investments and USD 100 billion in private investments — to provide tropical countries with permanent income in exchange for the lasting protection of their forests. If successful, the initiative could protect over 1 billion hectares of forest in more than 70 countries. At least 20% of payments made to these countries will go to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
Last month, during a UN event in New York, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a USD 1 billion investment in the TFFF, making Brazil the first country to commit financial resources to the initiative, contingent on the participation of other nations.
His Royal Highness, Prince William, founder and president of the Earthshot Prize, stated: “As we reach the halfway point of the Earthshot decade, I am inspired by this year’s finalists, who embody the urgent optimism at the heart of our mission. In just five years, the Earthshot Prize has demonstrated that solutions to the planet’s most pressing issues not only exist, but are also within our reach.”
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“Being a finalist for the Earthshot Prize, on the eve of COP30, is an honor for the four Ministries involved in the initiative —Environment and Climate Change (Meio Ambiente e Mudança do Clima), Foreign Affairs (Relações Exteriores), Finance (Fazenda), and Indigenous Peoples (Povos Indígenas)—under the leadership of President Lula. This multilateral effort will raise global awareness of the initiative, attract public and private investors, and spread the message worldwide about the vital importance of tropical forests to our lives and economies. It is a historic opportunity to ensure that preserving tropical forests is more valuable than cutting them down. Through the TFFF, we can transform the future of forest conservation and ensure long-term financing for those who protect them”, said Ms. Silva.
The Earthshot Prize
This year’s group of nominees was selected from nearly 2,500 nominations submitted by the Earthshot Prize network, which includes 575 nominators from 72 countries. The 15 finalists were chosen based on assessments carried out by the prize’s selection partners and advisory panel—a global group of over 100 experts with deep knowledge in conservation, science, technology, business, finance, academia, and public policy.
As in previous years, the five winners of this year’s Earthshot Prize will be selected by Prince William and the members of the Earthshot Prize Council, a diverse group of individuals dedicated to protecting the climate and the environment. The Council is chaired by Ms. Christiana Figueres, Chair of the Earthshot Prize Board of Trustees and architect of the Paris Agreement.
Members of the Earthshot Prize Council include: Prince William, Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Cate Blanchett, Indra Nooyi, José Andrés, Wanjira Mathai, Nemonte Nenquimo, Luisa Neubauer, Naoko Yamazaki, Ernest Gibson, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The selected solutions are aligned with the five “Earthshots”—simple, ambitious, and inspiring goals that are more relevant today than ever. More information about this year’s finalists is available on the Earthshot Prize website.
About the Tropical Forests Forever Fund
The TFFF is a Brazil-led initiative, announced at COP28 in Dubai, and developed in dialogue with ten other countries—five forest countries (Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and five potential supporters (Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and France)—as well as dozens of civil society organizations and representatives of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) from around the world.
Unlike other environmental financing mechanisms, the TFFF is not based on donations. Instead, it relies on investments made by countries, philanthropies, and companies into a fund. The total capital will be allocated to a diversified portfolio of long-term, investment-grade fixed-income assets, managed by international fund managers. According to the TFFF Concept Note, in
