Nominations Open for the 2020 Champions of the Earth Award
Nominations for the 2020 Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour, opened on January 20. The award aims to recognize the contribution of outstanding leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector whose actions have had a positive impact on the environment. The nominations will remain open until 20th March 2020.
Established in 2005, the award celebrates visionaries in four categories: Policy leadership; Inspiration and action; Entrepreneurial vision, and Science and innovation.
“Through the Champions of the Earth award, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) seeks to recognize the immense contributions of people from all walks of life to supporting a healthy planet,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “At a time when humanity continues to wreak havoc on our environment, we celebrate those individuals, communities, businesses, and governments who go the extra mile to protect the earth.”
Every year, Champions are selected from hundreds of nominees globally, submitted through a public nomination process; the list of nominees is ultimately submitted to a jury – made up of a wide range of environmental experts – which then selects the laureates.
Since its launch, UNEP has presented the Champions of the Earth award to 93 laureates, ranging from world leaders to environmental defenders and technology inventors. They include 22 world leaders, 57 individuals, and 14 groups or organizations.
According to UNEP, the awards will be presented to this year’s laureates at a ceremony later this year.
