Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the United Nations’ highest environmental honour, the ‘UNEP Champions of the Earth’ award at a special ceremony in Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi.
The award was announced on the sidelines of 73rd UN General Assembly at New York City, was presented by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Prime Minister Modi has been selected in the leadership category for his pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and for his unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.
The annual ‘Champions of the Earth’ prize is awarded to outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector whose actions have had a positive impact on the environment.
He was among the six winners who got the award this year. The award was for his “unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.” Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron were recognised in the ‘Policy Leadership Category’ for their “pioneering work in championing” the International Solar Alliance and “new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action”.
The Cochin International Airport took home the ‘Entrepreneurial Vision’ Award for its leadership in the use of sustainable energy.
The other winners include environmental and indigenous rights defender Joan Carling and the ‘Beyond Meat and Impossible Food’ in the Science and Innovation category for their popular, plant-based alternative to beef and “their efforts to educate consumers about environmentally conscious alternatives.”
China’s Zhejiang’s Green Rural Revival Programme was awarded for the Inspiration and Action for the “transformation of a once heavily polluted area of rivers and streams in East China’s Zhejiang province.”
The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) 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. Typically, five to seven laureates are selected annually. This awards programme is a successor to UNEP’s Global 500 Roll of Honour.
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 Covestro.
2018:
Narendra Modi and Emmanuel Macron – Policy Leadership
Beyond Meat – Science and Innovation
Impossible Foods – Science and Innovation
Cochin International Airport – Entrepreneurial Vision
Zhejiang’s Green Rural Revival Programme – Inspiration and Action
Joan Carling – Lifetime Achievement Award
2017:
Michelle Bachelet – Policy Leadership
Paul A. Newman & NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center – Science and Innovation
Mobike – Entrepreneurial Vision
Jeff Orlowski – Inspiration and Action
Saihanba Afforestation Community – Inspiration and Action
Christopher I’Anson – General Champion
Wang Wenbiao – Lifetime Achievement Award
2016:
Afroz Shah – Inspiration and Action
Berta Cáceres – Inspiration and Action
José Sarukhán Kermez – Lifetime Achievement
Leyla Acaroglu – Science and Innovation
The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) – Entrepreneurial Vision
Paul Kagame – Policy Leadership
2015:
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh – Policy Leadership
Black Mamba APU – Inspiration & Action
The National Geographic Society – Science & Innovation
Natura Brasil – Entrepreneurial Vision
Paul Polman – Entrepreneural Vision
2014:
Boyan Slat – Inspiration and Action
Fatima Jibrell, Somalia – Environmental conservation
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – Policy Leadership
Tommy Remengesau, Jr – Policy Leadership
Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez – Lifetime Leadership
Robert Watson (scientist) – Science and Innovation
Sylvia Earle – Lifetime Leadership
S. Green Building Council – Entrepreneurial Vision
2013:
Janez Potočnik – Policy Leadership
Brian McClendon – Entrepreneurial Vision
Carlo Petrini – Inspiration and Action
Izabella Teixeira – Policy Leadership
Jack Dangermond – Entrepreneurial Vision
Martha Isabel Ruiz Corzo – Inspiration and Action
Veerabhadran Ramanathan – Science and Innovation
2012:
President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Mongolia – Policy Leadership category
Fabio Coletti Barbosa, Brazil (CEO of Grupo Abril) and Dr Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, United Arab Emirates (CEO of Masdar)- Entrepreneurial Vision category
Bertrand Piccard, Switzerland – Inspiration and Action category
Sander Van der Leeuw, Netherlands – Science and Innovation category
Samson Parashina, Kenya – Special Category for Grassroots Initiatives
2011:
President Felipe Calderón, Mexico – Policy Leadership Category
Olga Speranskaya, Russia – Science & Innovation Category
Zhang Yue, Broad Group, China – Entrepreneurial Vision Category
Louis Palmer, Switzerland – Inspiration & Action Category [co-winner]
Angélique Kidjo, Benin – Inspiration & Action Category co-winner [Veerabhadran Ramanathan]
2010:
President Mohamed Nasheed, Maldives – Policy Leadership Category
Taro Takahashi, Japan – Science & Innovation Category
Vinod Khosla, India – Entrepreneurial Vision Category
Prince Mostapha Zaher, Afghanistan – Inspiration & Action Category [co-winner]
Zhou Xun, China – Inspiration & Action Category co-winner
Special Award: President Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyana – For Biodiversity Conservation & Ecosystem Management