Impact of the Prize

The Prize for Humanity has enabled individuals and organisations to make huge advances in tackling climate change.

Since the Prize was launched in 2020, the independent Jury – chaired this year by Angela Merkel – has recognised different approaches to climate change including youth mobilisation, coalition building, developing localised solutions, and scientific research.

The Prize strengthens communities facing the effects of climate change, helping them to adapt and build resilience at a local level. It supports scalable solutions that will have real impact nationally and globally.

Helping humanity overcome the biggest challenge we face will be the ultimate legacy of the Prize.

Winners

Bandi “Apai Janggut”, Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet and Lélia Wanick Salgado

Three inspiring individuals from the Global South were selected as winners of the fourth edition of the Prize: Bandi “Apai Janggut”, customary community leader from Indonesia; Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet, campaigner and agronomist from Cameroon; and Lélia Wanick Salgado, environmentalist, designer and scenographer from Brazil.

They were chosen for their leadership and tireless work over decades to restore vital ecosystems including forests, landscapes and mangroves, and protect land with and for the benefit of local communities. The Prize funding was split equally and will be used to help scale their work.

IPCC and IPBES

The third edition of the Prize recognised the need for scientific research to allow for evidence-based systemic thinking. The Prize money was split equally between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in recognition of the work both organisations do to highlight the threats of climate change and biodiversity loss.

2022 Award Ceremony António Feijó (President of the Gulbenkian Foundation), Hoesung Lee (IPCC), Anne Larigauderie (IPBES), and Angela Merkel (President of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity Jury) © Márcia Lessa

Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy

The second edition of the Prize recognised the importance of local action and the need for communities to develop solutions to the unique challenges they face. It was awarded to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy – a coalition of over 11,500 city leaders representing over a billion people worldwide. The Covenant has used the Prize money to fund two projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, helping cities by supporting energy transition and promoting climate resilience.

Greta Thunberg

Greta Thunberg was the first recipient of the Prize, awarded in recognition of her unprecedented work mobilising and inspiring younger generations around the world to demand action on climate. The Greta Thunberg Foundation donated the €1 million award to support grass-roots organisations in Brazil; help communities on the front line of climate change in India, Bangladesh and across the African continent; help efforts to make ecocide an international crime; support clean-up work following an oil spill off the coast of Mauritius; tackle malnutrition; and fund projects supporting people displaced by extreme weather events.

 

 

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