2025 Climate and Sustainability Photography Awards Capture the Essence of Sustainability
Let your lens become a force to change the world! Whether it’s the green miracles of industrial transformation, the societal movements for climate actions, the breathtaking wonders of marine life, or the diverse charm of terrestrial ecosystems, Your work can define what “sustainability” looks like!
Why You?
Because your images are more than just photographs— They are perspectives and voices that resonate with the world.
The contest aims to enhance public awareness of sustainable development through real imagery, inspiring people to rethink ways of establishing harmonious coexistence with the natural world. It empowers the next generation to explore development opportunities through nature conservation, achieving a win-win situation for environmental protection and high-quality economic development.
In 2024, the inaugural Climate and Sustainability Photography Awards successfully concluded, engaging over 500 global photographers as the highlight of Shanghai Climate Week.
This year, the second Climate and Sustainability Photography Awards will continue to expand its global engagement to attract 5x more photographers and raise public awareness of sustainable development.Event Organizers: Host: Shanghai Climate Week Co-Host: Asian Development Bank (ADB), United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR) Organizer: Shanghai Climate Week Youth Council Principal Partner: Forbes China Strategic Partner: Global Shapers Community Shanghai I Hub Supporting Partner: Arab Youth Center, Global Youth Climate Week, AVPN, WildAid, SONGTSAM, WeCarbon, TanArt Community, DC Advertising, Wenbo Tianxia, East China Project Center of SEE Conservation, Oxford University Climate Alumni Network (OXCAN)
Contest Categories: Based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this year’s contest features the following four categories:
- Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: Capture moments of technological innovation and sustainable infrastructure, showcasing the beauty of the fusion between technology and nature.
- Climate Action: Capture proactive efforts to combat climate change, conveying hope and strength for the planet.
- Life Below Water: Explore the wonders of life in the deep blue, using photography to document and protect the diversity of marine species.
- Life on Land: Focus on ecological conservation, portraying touching moments of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature through imagery.
How Your Work is Appreciated Your work will be reviewed with three rounds: 1) By pre-screening team 2) By the expert panel 3) By the public via online voting If you receive a notification that your submission is approved by the expert panel, you will be requested the original copy of the submission for the upcoming process before the deadline. Failure to submit on time may be defaulted as a choice of giving up.
Participation Channel: 📅 Submission During: Jan 23rd to Mar 23rd, 2025 📧 Submit by E-mailing to: contact.shcwyc@shanghaiclimateweek.org.cn Please include in the email subject line: 2025 Climate and Sustainability Photography Awards – Participant’s Name – Contest Category 🌐 Or share on Instagram, @Climate&SustainbilityPhotographyAwards to showcase your creativity!
Submission Rules:
- Content of submission should comply with relevant laws and regulations.
- Each participant can submit entries for up to 2 categories, with a maximum of 5 photographs (sets) per category and no more than 10 photographs per set.
- When submitting entries via email, the following materials of the participants must be provided:
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- Photographer Introduction: Including basic information, educational background, professional & social experience, photography-related achievements, etc.
- Each entry (or series) must include the title in English, the date of shooting (month and year), the location of the shooting, and a description of the work (no more than 300 characters). The description should explain how the work aligns with the theme of the competition category.
- Submission format must be JPG (less than 10MB per image), with a resolution of no less than 150dpi and a minimum long-edge pixel dimension of 1000. Submission should not include watermarks, signatures, etc.
- Submissions can be in color or black & white, with no specific creation time requirements.
- There are no restrictions on the equipment used to capture the submissions; digital cameras, film cameras, drones, or smartphones are all acceptable.
Awards: – Finalists: (1) Digital finalist certificate. (2) Media exposure for the event (3) Membership in the Sustainable Photographer Community hosted by the organizers, with free participation in future social gatherings and workshops. (4) Finalists’ submissions will be exhibited at the 2025 Shanghai Climate Week and touring in 2-3 cities domestically and internationally. – Grand Award and Category Awards: (1) Official event memorabilia set. (2) A sustainable experience trip worth over USD 5,000 awaits! – Grand Prize Winner: A 5-day luxury exploration trip for two to the “Three Parallel Rivers” region, worth over USD 5,000. – Category Winners: An exploration trip to the Asian Development Bank’s Yancheng National Nature Reserve, worth over USD 1,000. (3) Trophy and award certificate. (4) Exclusive Media Coverage Opportunities: The Grand Prize Winner will be featured in an exclusive interview by Forbes China. (5) Becoming a member of the expert judging panel in the 2026 Climate and Sustainability Photography Awards.
Timeline: Submission Period (January 23 – March 23): Submit your entry materials to the official contest email following the submission guidelines.
Expert Review (March 23 – April 5): Entries will undergo initial screening by the review team, followed by evaluation by the expert judging panel to select 50 shortlisted works (10-15 from each category).
Finalists Announcement & Exhibition (April 9 – Late April): Finalists will be announced on the official Shanghai Climate Week platform and exhibited throughout Shanghai Climate Week.
Public Voting (April 21 – April 30): Public voting will commence on the opening day and remain open for 10 days.
Winner Announcement (Mid to Late May): An awards ceremony and sustainable art salon will be held in Beijing.
Global Exhibition (During 2025): Finalists’ works will be featured in a global exhibition tour.
Participation Notice: – Participants must ensure the authenticity of the information provided and the originality of the submitted works. Any submission of false information, plagiarism, or unauthorized use of others’ works, or AI-generated works will result in disqualification from the competition and may incur legal liabilities. – Submitted works must not infringe upon any third party’s copyright, portrait rights, reputation rights, privacy rights, trademark rights, trade name rights, or other legal rights and interests. Participants are solely responsible for any legal disputes arising from infringement. – If the subject of the photographed objects primarily consists of pictures, paintings, calligraphy, paper cutting, design drawings, etc., the participant must obtain permission from the corresponding copyright owner or other rights holders. – Works photographed in museums, exhibition halls, art galleries, etc., if the main subject of the work is exhibition items, will be considered reproductions and are not eligible for participation. – Submission of works implies that the author agrees to grant the event organizer, organizer, and partners the right to use the submitted works for public welfare purposes, including but not limited to exhibitions, poster design, electronic publications, websites, brochures, videos, and display on social media platforms. – Submitting entries implies acceptance of all rules and regulations related to the competition. The main organizer reserves the right to the final interpretation of this event.
“Climate and Sustainability Photography Awards” welcomes your submissions and participation.
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Description of Categories:
1. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: This category is suitable for photographic that captures actions taken by any country or organization to enhance the sustainability of infrastructure and industry, as well as support provided to small and medium-sized enterprises and developing countries, such as green parks, green buildings, zero-carbon factories, clean energy, environmental protection technologies, technological innovation, and inclusive finance.
2. Climate Action: This category is suitable for photography that highlights the importance of taking proactive action against climate change and its impacts, such as climate-related disasters, the capacity to respond to natural disasters, mitigation, adaptation, reducing impacts, and early warning systems for climate change.
3. Life Below Water: This category is suitable for photography that focuses on protecting and sustainably utilizing marine and ocean resources, such as ocean waste pollution, marine biodiversity conservation, sustainable ocean management, ocean protection, sustainable use of marine resources, and ocean technology.
4. Life on Land: This category is suitable for photography that showcases the protection, restoration, and promotion of sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystem elements, such as sustainable forest management, ecological restoration, desertification control, and terrestrial biodiversity.