Five climate trailblazers: UNEP’S 2025 Champions of the Earth

Posted on December 27, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

As the world moves to slow climate change and create a more sustainable future, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) named five new climate visionaries on Wednesday as its 2025 Champions of the Earth — the UN’s highest environmental honour.

These five extraordinary leaders, who work on issues ranging from climate justice to sustainable cooling and forest protection, show that bold action can drive real change for people and planet.

“As the global impacts of the climate crisis intensify, innovation and leadership across every sector of society have never been more essential,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

“Young students demanding climate justice, subnational governments and architects leading on sustainable cooling and smart building design, research institutes slowing deforestation – and passionate individuals driving methane emissions reductions – this year’s Champions of the Earth show the kind of leadership that will inspire the world to face down the challenge of climate change.”

This year, the laureates are tackling some of the most urgent challenges of our time: climate justice, methane emissions, sustainable cooling, resilient buildings, and forest conversation, according to the UN’s environment agency.

UNEP’s 2025 Champions of the Earth are:

Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change – Policy Leadership

When Cynthia Houniuhi addressed the International Court of Justice in The Hague a year ago, she spoke plainly: climate change is devastating Pacific Island nations like her home, the Solomon Islands.

Through her youth-led NGO, which secured a landmark International Court of Justice (ICJ) opinion affirming states’ legal duties to prevent climate harm and uphold human rights, she is helping to reshape global climate law and empower vulnerable nations.

Champions of the Earth Award winner Cynthia Houniuhi, a climate justice advocate from the Solomon Islands who co-founded and led Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.

Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu – Inspiration and Action

Indian environmentalist Ms. Sahu is redefining how communities adapt to extreme heat – restoring nature to cool cities, redesigning schools for safety, and promoting climate-smart infrastructure.

Her sustainable cooling and restoration initiatives have created 2.5 million green jobs, expanded forest cover, and improved resilience for 12 million people.

Champions of the Earth Award winner Supriya Sahu is recognized for her groundbreaking leadership in subnational climate action, restoring ecosystems and scaling sustainable cooling innovations across Tamil Nadu.

Mariam Issoufou, Principal and Founder, Mariam Issoufou Architects, Niger/France – Entrepreneurial Vision

By grounding her architecture in local materials and cultural heritage, Ms. Issoufou is redefining sustainable, climate-resilient buildings across the Sahel and inspiring a new generation of designers shaping Africa’s built environment.

Through projects like the Hikma Community Complex in Niger, she pioneers passive cooling techniques that keep buildings up to 10°C cooler without air conditioning.

Champions of the Earth Award winner Mariam Issoufou is a Nigerien architect whose work redefines the relationship between contemporary design and cultural heritage.

Imazon, Brazil – Science and Innovation

Imazon has developed AI deforestation prediction models that inform policies and help law enforcement protect the Amazon rainforest, while promoting sustainable economic growth.

By combining science and AI-driven geospatial tools to curb deforestation, Imazon’s non-profit research institute has strengthened forest governance, supported thousands of legal cases, and revealed the scale of illegal deforestation, driving systemic change in the Amazon basin.

Champions of the Earth Award winner Cynthia Houniuhi is awarded for pioneering forest monitoring systems that combine cutting-edge geospatial science and AI to prevent deforestation in the Amazon.

Manfredi Caltagirone (posthumous) – Lifetime Achievement

Mr. Caltagirone has dedicated his career to one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Guided by his vision for open, reliable, and actionable data, he has driven efforts to turn knowledge into climate action.

As the former head of UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, he advanced transparency and science-based policy on methane emissions, helping shape the EU’s first regulation on methane emissions and shaping global energy policy.

Manfredi Caltagirone, posthumously honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his visionary leadership in founding the International Methane Emissions Observatory and advancing global action on methane.

Public health champions honoured for work ‘beyond the call of normal duty’

Posted on May 24, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

But this is not universal. Many people worldwide struggle – unable to walk into clinics or explain their symptoms: “[These patients] do not line up on waiting lists. They wait, unknowingly, for inside understanding and the courage to seek care,” said Dr. Merete Nordentoft of Denmark, describing the patients with whom she has worked most closely.

Dr. Nordentoft was one of six public health champions to receive an award on Friday for “outstanding, innovative work in health development”, at the 78^th World Health Assembly.

Each was honoured for their contributions to treating underserved communities and advancing the goal of healthcare for all.

“We celebrate the lifelong commitment and the relentless work accomplished by our very own health professionals across member states from every region of the world with one common goal – health for all,” President Teodoro Herbosa who presided over the awards ceremony.

Reaching vulnerable communities

Dr. Nordentoft received the Sasakawa Health Prize for her work on suicide prevention and with young patients undergoing their first psychotic episode. She was the first to receive this prize for mental health work, and emphasized the importance of early interventions which prioritize community-based care.

“With the right support, early enough, recovery is not only possible – it is likely,” Dr. Nordentoft said of her patients.

Many of the other award recipients have also spent their careers focused on healthcare policies and treatments which foreground integrated, community-based care.

The principles for which Nelson Mandela fought urge us to pursue a policy of cooperation and partnership in sharing knowledge, science and resources – Dr. Majed Zemni

Professor Huali Wang of China and the Geriatric Healthcare Directorate of Kuwait were both awarded the Sheikh Al-Sabah Prize which honours research and policy done to support and advance healthy ageing.

Professor Wang was recognised in part for her work to integrate professional and family support networks for older adults with dementia. She dedicated her award to these families and everyone living with the complex illness.

The Kuwaiti Directorate was also honoured for the way in which they promoted high-quality, integrated care for older adults which “[preserves] the dignity, the rights and [recognises] the invaluable experiences of older persons.”

Dr. Jožica Maučec Zakotnik from Slovenia, who received the United Arab Emirates Foundation Prize, has also worked tirelessly to increase healthcare access and co-developed a new type of free-of-charge health care promotion centre scheme.

“Growing up in a less developed region in Slovenia, I set myself a task that the most disadvantaged communities would be given greater attention,” she said.

‘Force quit button’

Some of the awardees acknowledged that they were receiving these highly coveted awards during a time when global health is facing unprecedented challenges, specifically financial.

The proposed budget before the 78th World Health Assembly has been reduced by over $1.1 billion due to currently projected funding cuts.

“The global health world has just been hit with a ‘force quit’ button and we have been pushed to stop some of the things we really want to do,” said Dr. Helen Rees of South Africa, recipient of the Dr. LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for her work in HIV prevention and community-based health services.

Dr. Majed Zemni of Tunisia received the Nelson Mandela Award for his patient-centred work in forensic medicine and in promoting the integration of medical ethics into policy. In his remarks, he noted the global civil rights icon’s legacy in also fighting for health policies.

“The principles for which Nelson Mandela fought urge us to pursue a policy of cooperation and partnership in sharing knowledge, science and resources,” Dr. Zemni said.

Continuing the work

Dr. Rees also emphasized the importance of seizing this moment to reimage global public health and uphold its sustainability.

“What we need now is action. We need good science and evidence-based policies so we can address the needs of all people, including the most vulnerable,” she said.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General, also urged all of the recipients to continue their work towards a healthier and fairer world.

“At a time when the world faces many challenges, each of you is an inspiration and a reminder of the progress that can be made to improve health and well-being for all.”

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Champions for Change: World football teams up with UN development goals

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

The Football for the Goals Forum brought UN leaders and some of the top voices in the world’s most popular sport to UN Headquarters in New York for the inaugural Champions for Change: Football and the UN Unite for the SDGs event.

The UN has long recognised the role of sport in advancing the SDGs – promoting peace, gender equality, health, and climate action – as affirmed in a General Assembly Resolution on Sport adopted in December 2022.

With unparalleled global reach, football holds a unique position to drive progress on these goals. Launched in July 2022, Football for the Goals is a UN initiative engaging the international football community to advocate for the SDGs.

Wednesday’s forum aimed to mobilise the football community for action across key SDG areas.

The kick off

After introductions from football executives, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, UN communications chief Melissa Fleming, and the Qatari Representative to the UN, the opening panel – Bolstering Community Engagement with the SDGs – outlined the origins of Football for the Goals and explored how the football community can deepen its contribution to the SDGs.

This was followed by a brief discussion on the football sector’s commitment to climate sustainability.

The programme then shifted to some of the Forum’s most substantive panels, exploring how football both reflects global inequalities – between the Global South and North, and between men and women – and has the potential to help address them.

North-South divide

Júlia Pimenta of Street Child United highlighted that football organisations in the Global South, which serve the children who need support most, often lack adequate funding and must compete with well-resourced programmes in the Global North.

Sarah Van Vooren of Atoot in Nepal similarly noted that grassroots organisations connecting football and sustainable development, frequently lack the resources needed to reach their full potential.

When these organisations are properly supported, they can provide safe, educational environments for children – often with life-changing results.

Panellists emphasised that funding such initiatives is key to advancing SDGs related to education and reducing inequality.

Young girls play football at school in Soc Trang Province, Viet Nam.

Levelling the gender playing field

Jayathma Wickramanayake, a policy advisor on sports partnerships at UN Women, noted that the gender equality agency is responsible for most of the targets under SDG 5 related to closing the gender gap.

She emphasised that progress has been slow – and in some areas, it’s even regressing – largely due to the persistence of rigid social norms, attitudes, and behaviours.

These norms often manifest in the sports world through unequal pay and incidents of sexual harassment. However, Ms. Wickramanayake and other panellists highlighted how sport can be a powerful tool to challenge stereotypes and empower women and girls to succeed – both on and off the pitch.