Earth-abundant transition metals (EATMs), namely Ni, Fe, Co, Cu, and Mn, are exclusively low-priced and characterised by nonphaoticity and proneness in replacing precious or noble metals in the realm of advanced catalysis. Such wide chemical versatility gives them excellent activity and selectivity in a wide variety of green chemistry, renewed energy catalysis, and environmental remediation reactions. Advancements in the recent nanostructured design of catalysts, such as single-atom structures, heteroatom doping, heterostructure design, and amorphous materials, have significantly boosted the activity of EATM catalysts in reactions catalysed involving multi-metal water splitting, hydrogen evolution (HER), CO₂ reduction, and biomass valorisation, as well as numerous organic transformations. At the same time, biomimetic and molecular catalyst architectures have doubled efficiency and durability, and operando spectroscopy, coupled with computational catalyst screening, has increased the speed at which catalyst mechanisms are unravelled and materials optimised. Looking at comparative data against noble metal benchmarks, optimised EATM catalysts are capable of being competitive with or better than conventional ones in terms of activity, stability, and selectivity, making them critical towards scalable solar-to-fuel conversion and sustainable industry. An outline of recent developments, performance criteria and the evolving possibilities of application of the EATM catalysts in practical devices and processes is described, hence supporting its role in supporting a future of resources and environmentally friendly life.