From a rhino at the end of a rainbow to the molten front line of a wildfire, the shortlist for Earth Photo 2025 is full of riveting environmental stories that demand to be told.
The international photography and film competition, created by the UK’s Royal Geographical Society, Forestry England and visual art consultancy Parker Harris in 2018, received over 1,500 submissions from 250 ‘lens artists’ in its seventh year.
40 photographers and filmmakers were selected by a jury of experts, who now have the unenviable task of choosing a winner from the 203-strong collection of “urgent, poetic and often unexpected stories”.
“These stories not only highlight the pressing issues of climate change, such as disappearing habitats, polluted rivers, and climate-induced displacement, but also celebrate human ingenuity, resilience, and the deep connections between people and their environments,” according to a statement from the competition.
Here are seven of our favourites, before a winner is selected and The Earth Photo 2025 exhibition launches at the Royal Geographical Society from 17 June – 20 August.
7. ‘Pandamonium’ in China
Donning a panda suit at Wolong’s Hetaoping centre in Sichuan Province is just one of many things that Ami Vitale has done to embody her belief in “living the story”.
The National Geographic photographer, writer and filmmaker has travelled to more than 100 countries, capturing the stories of individuals living on the frontlines of climate change and war, “who refuse to let cataclysm define their futures”.
At the Chinese panda centre, cubs are raised with minimal human contact, including rare hands-on checkups, in hopes of fostering skills for life in the wild.
In ‘A Hopeful Sign’, above, Vitale snapped a black rhino named Bruno, peacefully resting beneath a rainbow at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.
6. Olive tree farming in the limelight
For over a decade, Spanish-born artist Berta De La Rosa has dedicated herself to a project called ‘Getsemaní’, which advocates for the protection of Mediterranean traditions through a focus on the olive tree.
“My mission with this lifelong project, rooted in environmental sustainability, is to give a voice through the figure of the olive tree – as a universal tree, a tree of hope – to all our trees,” she says.
“And by doing so, I hope to safeguard our landscapes and reinstate the dignity of agricultural labour.”
5. The last people of the Accursed Mountains
Chiara Fabbro is an Italian documentary photographer based in London, focusing on migration, displacement, and human connection.
In this series, she turns her lens on what may be the final generation of shepherds living in the remote highlands of the Accursed Mountains, a dramatic range spanning Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro.
Their traditional way of life is threatened by climate-driven drought – forcing flocks to travel further – and a younger generation turning away from remote mountain life.
4. ‘Heataly’: Italy under climate change
A cross-country ski trail winds through a completely snow-free forest. Today, 90 per cent of Italy’s ski slopes rely on artificial snowmaking systems, consuming an estimated 96,840,000 cubic metres of water annually – the equivalent of a city of one million people.
That’s one aspect of the way global heating is manifesting in Italy, a subject Italian documentary photographer Filippo Ferraro explores through his ‘Heataly’ project.
3. Waterlines in the Amazon
A Ticuna man is dwarfed by a 500-year-old Ceiba tree in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest in this photo by Colombian photographer and engineer Mateo Borrero.
On the face of it, the image seems simply to illustrate the smallness of man beside a natural giant. But a horizontal shadow, at eye-level with the man, tells a deeper story.
The tree bears a water line that marks the typical height of the river during the rainy season, which usually peaks between April and May. Taken in May 2024, the photo shows the extent of last year’s drought due to climate change.
2. An infrared look at Iceland’s dwindling forests
Iceland, once 40 per cent forested, today has only about 1.5 per cent forest cover. Restoration efforts are vital to the country’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040, but face multiple challenges – including from the growing demands of tourism.
Tourism in Iceland has skyrocketed in the past decade, observes photographer and director Jussi Hellsten, but emissions from travel are not counted in national inventories under the Kyoto Protocol, complicating the country’s climate efforts.
“Since 2021, I have documented the intersection of tourism and reforestation in Iceland using digital infrared photography, a tool commonly employed to assess forest health,” he explains.
“The technique reveals hidden aspects of the landscape,” he says. And, as in this photo, also highlights the essential role of volunteers. Millions of tree seedlings are grown annually at nurseries like Kvistari, pictured here.
1. Plastic waste washing up on Bali beaches
In January 2025, Bali’s beaches were inundated with waves of plastic pollution. Each year, the rainy season flushes Indonesia’s polluted rivers, depositing millions of tonnes of plastic waste into the oceans, which then washes up along the country’s coastlines.
Although these plastic waves are an annual occurrence, 2025 has been called “the worst year yet” by locals.
Beijing-based British photographer and filmmaker Sean Gallagher travelled to Indonesia to document this unfolding plastic crisis. His series portrays local Indonesians engaged in community efforts to clean the country’s polluted beaches, rivers, and mangroves.