The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established Champions of the Earth in 2005 as an annual awards programme to recognize outstanding environmental leaders from the public and private sectors, and from civil society.
Award details
Typically, five to seven laureates are selected annually. Each laureate is invited to an award ceremony to receive a trophy, give an acceptance speech and take part in a press conference. No financial awards are conferred. This awards programme is a successor to UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour.
The prize includes $15,000 of financial support.
In 2017, the program was expanded to include Young Champions of the Earth – a forward-looking prize for talented innovators, 18 to 30, who demonstrate outstanding potential to create positive environmental impact. The initiative is run in partnership with the Covestro, a plastics company. It is awarded every year by UNEP to seven young environmentalists from around the world between the ages of 18 and 30, for their outstanding ideas to protect the environment.
Awardees: Champions of the Earth
2022
Arcenciel (Lebanon) - Inspiration and Action
Constantino Aucca Chutas (Peru) - Inspiration and Action
Partha Dasgupta - Science and Innovation
Purnima Devi Barman - Entrepreneurial Vision
Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet - Inspiration and Action
2021
Prime Minister Mia Mottley (Barbados) - Policy Leadership
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka (Uganda) - Science and Innovation
Maria Kolesnikova (Kyrgyz Republic) - Entrepreneurial Vision
Sea Women of Melanesia (Papua New Guinea and the Soloman Islands) - Inspiration and Action David Attenborough - Lifetime Achievement Award