The contest's five main categories were 'Changemakers', 'Forests', 'Humanity vs Nature', 'Ocean', and 'Polar Regions'. Each winning entry received a prize of 1,000 euros. The Grand Prize was chosen among those five images and carried an additional endowment of 5,000 euros. The Public Award and the Student Choice Award each came with a 500-euro grant.

The winning work in the 'Forests' category was Spirits of the Falls, by photographer Arnaud Farré, who also received the Student Choice Award for Up is Down, becoming one of the doubly recognized authors of this edition.

In the 'Humanity vs Nature' category, the prize went to Fernando Faciole for Born for the Ocean, Fated to the Flames. The work belongs to a section of the contest devoted to examining the conflicts arising from the relationship between human activity and ecosystems.

The winner of the 'Ocean' category was Henley Spiers with Shearwater's Dilemma. The category brings together works tied to the seas, marine biodiversity, and the pressures bearing on these spaces.

In 'Polar Regions', the distinction went to The Gathering, by Vadim Makhorov. The section gathers images taken in polar territories, regions especially exposed to today's environmental transformations.

The Public Award went to Doug Gimesy for Koalas are Dying for You to Slow Down. Beyond the 500-euro grant tied to this distinction, the International University SEK, a longstanding partner of the contest, offered the winner the chance to visit its research station in the Ecuadorian Amazon. This was a photograph I particularly loved.

This edition's jury was chaired by Jasper Doest, a Dutch photographer specializing in conservation and wildlife. He was joined by Ángel Fitor, a Spanish natural history photographer and photojournalist specializing in marine and freshwater science; Tom Gilks, managing director and head of content at Nature Picture Library in the United Kingdom; Sharon Guynup, a National Geographic journalist, author, photographer, and explorer from the United States; Florian Ledoux, a French filmmaker and photographer specializing in the Arctic; Steve Winter, an American photojournalist devoted to big cats and documentary work; and Christian Ziegler, a German photojournalist and filmmaker specializing in natural history and scientific subjects.

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation also renewed its collaboration with Sergio Pitamitz, a National Geographic photographer devoted to conservation and wildlife. Pitamitz took on the presidency of the contest and worked alongside the organizing team in applying the ethical criteria of environmental photography.

The contest marks its sixth anniversary in 2026. It forms part of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation's awareness initiatives and stands as one of the three pillars of its Green Shift Initiative, aimed at circulating ecological narratives and environmental outreach projects.

The 36 finalist photographs are on display along the Promenade du Larvotto, in Monaco, from May 28th through July 30th, 2026. After its run in the Principality, the exhibition will begin an international tour. As in previous editions, Skira Paris will publish a book bringing together the selected images and their accompanying texts.