• The UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth Award honours individuals, groups and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment.

• Nominations for this year’s awards are being accepted from 28 January – 12 February 2021.

Nairobi, 28 January 2021 – The United Nations (UN) today called for nominees for its Champions of the Earth award – the world body’s highest honour for individuals and organizations that are safeguarding our environment and transforming societies.

The call for nominations comes a month after UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that humanity is waging war on nature with biodiversity collapsing, ecosystems disappearing, air and water pollution killing millions of people and climate change worsening with apocalyptic fires and floods.

For the past 15 years, the Champions of the Earth award has shone a spotlight on the work of people and organizations that have dedicated their lives to working for a healthier, more just and more sustainable planet. Laureates have ranged from heads of state and community activists to captains of industry and pioneering scientists.

2020 saw more nominations than ever before; the growing interest reflecting the increasing number of people standing up for the environment. 

The 2020 Champions of the Earth laureates in alphabetical order are:

• Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama of Fiji, honoured in the Policy Leadership category for his global climate action work and his commitment to climate-responsive national development
• Dr. Fabian Leendertz (Germany), honoured in the Science and Innovation category for his discoveries in zoonotics and his work in One Health
• Mindy Lubber (USA), recognized in the Entrepreneurial Vision category for her commitment to turning capital markets green by mobilizing top investors and companies and making the business case for climate action and sustainability
• Nemonte Nenquimo (Ecuador), awarded in the Inspiration and Action category for her leadership and unifying work with indigenous communities that halted drilling in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest
• Yacouba Sawadogo (Burkina Faso), also honoured in the Inspiration and Action category for teaching farmers his traditional nature-based solution to regenerate their soil and turn barren land into arable land and forest across Africa

This year’s champions are joined by Professor Robert D. Bullard (USA) who was awarded the Champion of the Earth Lifetime Achievement award for his commitment and service to environmental justice.

Nominations are open to everyone and nominees can be individuals, government entities, companies and other organizations. The deadline for nominations is February 12, 2021.

Nominate a Champion of the Earth here.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the UN Environment Programme

UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

For more information, please contact:

Keishamaza Rukikaire, Head of News & Media, UNEP, +254717080753

• The Young Champions of the Earth prize is awarded every year to seven entrepreneurs under the age of 30 with bold ideas for sustainable environmental change.
• The seven winners, hailing from different regions around the world, receive seed funding, mentoring and communications support to amplify their efforts.

Nairobi, 15 December 2020 – The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today named seven young scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and activists from across the globe as its 2020 Young Champions of the Earth.

With solutions to harvest water from the air, recycle plastic into paving slabs, and motivate fishing boats to haul tonnes of plastic out of the ocean, these change-makers show how innovative ideas coupled with ambitious action can help solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

“Globally, young people are leading the way in calling for meaningful and immediate solutions to the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution – we must listen,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. “As we enter this decisive decade where we work to cut emissions and protect and restore ecosystems, UNEP Young Champions demonstrate that all of us can contribute, starting where we are with what we have. Every single act for nature counts, and we need the entire spectrum of humanity to share this global responsibility and this profound opportunity.”  

The seven prize winners, all 30 years old or younger, were selected by a global jury of experts following a competitive public nomination. The 2020 Young Champions of the Earth are:

• Africa: Nzambi Matee (Kenya, 29), a materials engineer and head of Gjenge Makers, which produces sustainable low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic waste and sand.

• Asia and the Pacific: Xiaoyuan Ren (China, 29) leads MyH2O, a data platform that tests and records the quality of groundwater across a thousand villages in rural China into an app so residents know where to find clean water. The platform also educates communities about sources of contamination and connects villages with potable water companies.

• Asia and The Pacific: Vidyut Mohan (India, 29 years) co-founded Takachar, which builds affordable and portable biomass upgrading equipment, allowing farmers to earn extra income and prevent open burning by converting crop waste into fuels, fertilizers and activated carbon.

• Europe: Lefteris Arapakis (Greece, 26 years) founded the start-up Enaleia, through which the team trains, empowers and incentivises the local fishing community to collect plastic from the sea, allowing both fish stocks and the ecosystem to recover. Enaleia is also prototyping recycling the plastic into fashion merchandise like socks and swimsuits.

• Latin America and the Caribbean: Max Hidalgo Quinto (Peru, 30) founded Yawa, building portable wind turbines that harvest up to 300 litres of water per day from atmospheric humidity and mist.

• North America: Niria Alicia Garcia (USA, 28), coordinates - alongside a community of indigenous activists - the annual Run 4 Salmon event using virtual reality to bring to life the historical journey of the Sacramento chinook salmon along California’s largest watershed, raising awareness of this invaluable ecosystem, the species and people it supports.

• West Asia: Fatemah Alzelzela (Kuwait, 24) started Eco Star, a non-profit recycling initiative that exchanges trees and plants for waste from homes, schools and businesses in Kuwait. Since launching in early 2019, Eco Star has recycled over 130 tonnes of metal, paper and plastic.

The spotlight on this year’s Young Champions of the Earth follows Friday’s announcement of the six 2020 Champions of the Earth, the UN’s highest environmental honour, awarded to seasoned environmental leaders whose actions are having a transformative impact on the environment.

By amplifying news of the significant work being done on the environmental frontlines, the Young Champions of the Earth prize - part of UNEP’s #ForNature campaign - aims to inspire and motivate more young people to act for nature as we get ever closer to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Kunming in May 2021 and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

About Young Champions of the Earth

The Young Champions of the Earth prize is the United Nations Environment Programme's leading initiative to engage youth in tackling the world's most pressing environmental challenges. Seven winners were announced in December 2020. The winners are given funding and mentorship to support their environmental initiative. Since its inception in 2017, 28 environmental trailblazers have been recognised from every corner of the globe.

For more information, please contact:

Keishamaza Rukikaire, Head of News and Media, UN Environment Programme,

On 11 December 2020, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced six laureates of the 2020 Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour. The Champions were chosen for their transformative impact on the environment and their leadership in urging bold and decisive action on behalf of the planet and its inhabitants.

Since its inception in 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth award has brought visibility and validation to some of the world’s most dynamic environmental leaders, from pioneering scientists and captains of industry to heads of state and community activists. The awards celebrate inspirational and motivational examples of the potential of individual and collective action to change the world.

Together, they Act #FORNATURE.

The United Nations Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth and the Young Champions of the Earth honour individuals, groups and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment.

The winners are announced in December 2020, on the cusp of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

By showcasing news of the significant work being done on the environmental frontlines, both awards aim to inspire and motivate more people to act for nature. The awards are part of UNEP’s #ForNature campaign to rally momentum for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Kunming in May 2021, and catalyze climate action all the way to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.  

In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 19^th century English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge warned of a world where there was “water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink”. For two of this year’s laureates of the Champions of the Earth award, the importance of waterways to mitigating the effects of climate change has shaped political and legal advocacy that has had a transformative power for environmental stewardship.

Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, whose commitment to climate rehabilitation made his country the first signatory to the landmark Paris Agreement, has been a tireless advocate of the need to consider the importance of a healthy and functioning ocean to climate change mitigation.

“The science is very clear about the consequences of a global temperature rise of 3 degrees celsius, and we cannot let that happen,” Prime Minister Bainimarama has said. “If nothing is done soon, human survival will be threatened. We cannot afford to take that gamble.”

Oceans are not the only waterways of importance for healthy and sustainable life on Earth, as another of this year’s laureates has shown with her passionate pursuit of environmental justice for the indigenous communities of the Amazon Basin. Nemonte Nenquimo of Ecuador’s Waorani people has won a series of critical legal victories to prevent the auctioning of parcels of land for resource exploitation along the Amazon River.

Drawn from an exceptional pool of nominees, Nenquimo and Prime Minister Bainimarama are among the six laureates to be awarded this year’s tribute to those whose effective action has led to environmental victories that have transformed our societies for the better.

Most striking among their shared attributes is their commitment to living within and in harmony with the natural world – and ensuring that everyone the world over can benefit from a harmonious, not a dissonant, relationship with their environment. These stewards of the Earth and its waterways also hold dearly the values of equity, fairness and inclusion, and see important links between doing no harm to the planet and doing no harm to its inhabitants.

To draw inspiration from their profiles in action, and see what you can do in your own community to join them as an environmental champion, visit this page.

The United Nations Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth and the Young Champions of the Earth honour individuals, groups and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. 

The annual Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour. It recognizes outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector. Six laureates were announced in December 2020, on the cusp of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030

By showcasing news of the significant work being done on the environmental frontlines, the Champions of the Earth awards aim to inspire and motivate more people to act for nature. The awards are part of UNEP’s #ForNature campaign to rally momentum for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Kunming in May 2021, and catalyze climate action all the way to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.

• The Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour, annually recognizing outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector
• The Champions of the Earth inspire, defend, mobilize and act to tackle the greatest environmental challenges of our time
• This year’s awards recognise laureates in the categories of Lifetime Achievement, Inspiration and Action, Policy Leadership, Entrepreneurial Vision and Science and Innovation.

Nairobi, 11 December 2020 -The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced six laureates of the 2020 Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour. The Champions were chosen for their transformative impact on the environment and their leadership in urging bold and decisive action on behalf of the planet and its inhabitants.

Since its inception in 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth award has brought visibility and validation to some of the world’s most dynamic environmental leaders, from pioneering scientists and captains of industry to heads of state and community activists. The awards celebrate inspirational and motivational examples of the potential of individual and collective action to change the world.

Congratulating this year’s laureates, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “In the middle of a global pandemic, with societies struggling, economies stretched to their limits and an escalating biodiversity and climate crisis, we need to act boldly and urgently to repair our relationship with nature and take the path of sustainable development. Each year, the United Nations honours these environmental champions for their leadership and vision. Their efforts confront the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.”

“This year’s Champions of the Earth have dug their heels in, faced down adversity and taken on the immense challenge of working to protect and restore our environment,” said UNEP’s Executive Director Inger Andersen. “They not only inspire us, they also remind us that we have in our hands the solutions, the knowledge and the technology to limit climate change and avoid ecological collapse. It is time for us all to act for nature.”

The 2020 Champions of the Earth in alphabetical order are:

• Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama of Fiji, honoured in the Policy Leadership category for his global climate action work and his commitment to climate-responsive national development
• Dr. Fabian Leendertz (Germany), honoured in the Science and Innovation category for his discoveries in zoonotics and his work in One Health
• Mindy Lubber (USA), recognized in the Entrepreneurial Vision category for her commitment to turning capital markets green by mobilizing top investors and companies and making the business case for climate action and sustainability
• Nemonte Nenquimo (Ecuador), awarded in the Inspiration and Action category for her leadership and unifying work with indigenous communities that halted drilling in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest
• Yacouba Sawadogo (Burkina Faso), also honoured in the Inspiration and Action category for teaching farmers his traditional nature-based solution to regenerate their soil and turn barren land into arable land and forest across Africa

This year’s champions are joined by Professor Robert D. Bullard (USA) who was awarded the Champion of the Earth Lifetime Achievement award for his commitment and service to environmental justice.

By amplifying news of the significant work being done on the environmental frontlines, the Champions of the Earth awards aim to inspire and motivate more people to act for nature. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Champions were announced online, on the cusp of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which starts in early 2021. The awards are part of UNEP’s #ForNature campaign to rally momentum for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Kunming in May 2021, and catalyze climate action all the way to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

About Champions of the Earth

Champions of the Earth recognizes outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector. Since its inception in 2005, the Champions of the Earth award has recognized 95 laureates including 24 world leaders, 57 individuals and 12 organizations. Past laureates include, among others, former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, the climate change youth movement Fridays for Future, marine biologist Sylvia Earle, American statesman Al Gore, and the National Geographic Society.

For more information, please contact:

Keishamaza Rukikaire, Head of News and Media, UN Environment Programme,

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres shares his message of support for the 2020 Champions of the Earth, the UN’s highest environmental honour, and Young Champions of the Earth, UNEP's forward looking prize.

The Champions were chosen for their transformative impact on the environment and their leadership in urging bold and decisive action on behalf of the planet and its inhabitants. The awards celebrate inspirational and motivational examples of the potential of individual and collective action to change the world.

Together, they Act #FORNATURE.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

"In the middle of a global pandemic, with societies struggling, economies stretched to their limits and an escalating biodiversity and climate crisis, we need to act boldly and urgently to repair our relationship with nature and take the path of sustainable development.

The Champions and Young Champions of the Earth inspire and mobilize.

Each year, the United Nations honours these environmental champions for their leadership and vision. They see promise in the peril of our times as they take on some of our greatest challenges. They are political leaders, innovators, artists, scientists, entrepreneurs and defenders of the environment.

Their efforts confront the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

I commend this year’s Champions of the Earth. Their efforts to face down adversity affirm that we can protect and restore our environment for the good of all people and the planet." - UN Secretary-General António Guterres