New York / Nairobi,
10 May 2011 - Mexican President Felipe Calderon,
global music legend Angélique Kidjo
and adventurer Louis Palmer are among the
five winners of the 2011 Champions of the
Earth awards, the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) announced on Tuesday.
They received their
awards at a ceremony hosted by UNEP Goodwill
Ambassador, Gisele Bündchen, at the
American Museum of Natural History in New
York, along with fellow laureates green
entrepreneur Zhang Yue and scientist and
campaigner Dr. Olga Speranskaya.
From using green technology
to cut air pollution in China, to tackling
the impact of toxic chemicals in Eastern
Europe or crossing the globe to fly the
flag for solar power, this year's award
winners are environmental champions whose
daily work, leadership and advocacy represent
green innovation in action.
The full list of the
2011 Champions of the Earth is as follows:
Policy Leadership: President
Felipe Calderon (Mexico) for commitment
to lead international efforts to combat
climate change
Science and Innovation:
Dr. Olga Speranskaya (Russia) for successfully
mobilizing civil society in eliminating
obsolete pesticides and toxic chemicals
in the former Soviet region.
Entrepreneurial Vision:
BROAD Group / Mr. Zhang Yue (China) for
business leadership on energy efficiency
and sustainable production.
Inspiration and Action:
Mr. Louis Palmer (Switzerland) for raising
global awareness of the need for renewable
energy and sustainable transport and Ms.
Angélique Kidjo (Benin) for advocacy
on social equity and women empowerment in
support of sustainable development
"The 2011 Champions
of the Earth winners are inspirational examples
of how people from all walks of life are
coming up with exciting, innovative solutions
to environmental challenges. Whether through
their business ventures, leadership, campaigning
efforts or passion for technology, they
are real examples of the global transition
towards a more sustainable Green Economy",
said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP
Executive Director Achim Steiner.
"As the world prepares
for the UN Sustainable Development Conference
in Rio de Janeiro next year, these five
Champions of the Earth demonstrate how collective,
positive action - from greener cars and
air conditioning to tackling harmful pesticides
or advocating for global action on carbon
- can help tackle climate change and deliver
environmental sustainability for communities
and economies in all parts of the world",
added Mr. Steiner.
The award ceremony followed
a high-level policy dialogue, Getting to
Grips with the Green Economy.
Featuring UNEP Executive
Director Achim Steiner, Executive Coordinator
of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development
(Rio+20), Elizabeth Thompson and Secretary
of the Environment and Natural Resources
of Mexico, Rafael Elvira Quesada, the event
was an in-depth debate on the progress and
challenges towards the global transition
to a low-carbon, resource efficient Green
Economy.
Moderated by TIME Magazine
senior reporter Bryan Walsh, the interactive
session explored different visions of the
Green Economy in the developed and developing
countries, the role of a Green Economy in
eradicating poverty and how to calculate
the cost of a transition towards a more
sustainable global economic model.
The Champions of the
Earth event ran parallel to the 19th session
of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development at UN headquarters in New York.
The Green Economy ? along with international
environmental governance reform is one of
two central pillars of the UN Sustainable
Development Conference (Rio+20), to be held
in Brazil next year.
Launched in 2005, Champions
of the Earth is the UN's flagship environmental
award. To date, it has recognised 46 individuals
and organizations for their leadership,
vision, inspiration and action on the environment.
The diverse list of
previous Champions laureates include former
US Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize
winner Al Gore, Chinese actress and environmental
advocate Zhou Xun, the Women's Environment
& Development Organization (WEDO) and
Dr. Atiq Rahman, an author and sustainable
development expert from Bangladesh.
2011 Champions of the
Earth Winners Profiles:
President Felipe Calderon
(Mexico)
President Calderon has
been a strong voice for the environment
on the world stage since his election in
2006.
He has been praised
for his stewardship of international climate
change negotiations ? most recently as host
of the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun,
Mexico, last year. The Cancun talks resulted
in several new initiatives and institutions,
including the strengthening of the Kyoto
Protocol's Clean Development Mechanisms
and the creation of a Green Climate Fund,
which will manage long-term finance mobilized
to enable developing countries to address
climate change.
"Confidence is
back", announced Calderon at the 3am
conclusion of the climate talks, symbolising
what was widely hailed as a significant
step forward in climate negotiations after
the disappointment of the Copenhagen conference
in 2009.
Closer to home, President
Calderon has made clear his ambition to
make Mexico a world leader on climate action.
Under its Special Climate
Change Program, Mexico will replace nearly
2 million refrigerators and air conditioners,
and more than 47 million incandescent light
bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps or
other more efficient lighting technologies,
by 2012.
Mexico made the unilateral
commitment through its Special Climate Change
Program (PECC) to reduce 51 million tons
of CO2 by 2012 - the equivalent of all the
GHG emissions generated by all the vehicles
that circulate in Mexico City in four and
a half years.
Mexico has also been
a strong advocate of using forest resources
to mitigate climate change. At present,
the conservation of 2.4 million hectares
of forest ecosystems incorporated in the
Payment for Environmental Services Program
is guaranteed. The Special Climate Change
Program mitigation goal of incorporating
1.5 million hectares to the Payment for
Environmental Services program, and thus
preventing the release of 2.2 million tons
of CO2 or its equivalent into the atmosphere,
has already been achieved.
Reforestation programmes
in the country are set to add another three
million hectares by 2012.
"If we can find
a formula that allows us to simultaneously
fight climate change and poverty, we will
have cleared the path to be followed by
humankind", said President Calderón
at the Champions of the Earth ceremony in
New York. "That route exists and we
must explore it together."
Dr. Olga Speranskaya
(Russia)
Russian scientist Dr.
Olga Speranskaya has been garnering headlines
worldwide for her work to reduce the harmful
impact of toxic chemicals in Eastern Europe,
the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Many former Soviet countries
are home to vast stockpiles of highly toxic
obsolete pesticides. Exposure to such pollutants
can seriously damage human health and the
environment.
Dr. Speranskaya formed
a civil society network that has grown to
include NGO groups, governmental bodies
and academics. Its aim is to work on phasing
out obsolete pesticides and other chemicals.
The campaign succeeded in pushing national
governments to ratify the Stockholm Convention
on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which
aims to eliminate the release of such products
into the environment. Nine of twelve countries
in the region ratified the Convention and
now participate as full Parties at its global
meetings. She has also led campaigns to
ban the burial and transport of hazardous
chemicals.
As co-chair of the International
POPs Elimination Network (IPEN), Dr. Speranskaya
has helped NGOs implement more than 70 projects
on toxic chemicals in Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The NGOs
have identified contaminated hotspots, analyzed
the health impacts of POPs, developed proposals
for mitigating these poisonous chemicals,
and coordinated public participation in
the identification of unauthorized storage
and use of banned and obsolete chemicals.
"It feels great
to be recognized by UNEP as a Champion of
the Earth", said Dr. Speranskaya. "It
demonstrates how important the work that
we do is and how people all over the world
really recognize that chemical safety is
a great challenge and one of the major problems
that we now face."
BROAD Group (China)
Zhang Yue Chairman and
Founder
"Responsibility
is more important than growth", runs
one of the company mottos of China's BROAD
Group.
BROAD is a world leader
in the manufacture of central air-conditioning
systems that use diesel or natural gas instead
of electricity to cool office buildings,
shopping malls and factories. BROAD states
that its non-electric air conditioning units
are 200% more energy efficient and that
CO2 emissions are four times lower than
traditional models.
BROAD, which is based
in Changsha, Hunan Province, was established
by Zhang Yue with a mere US$3,000 in 1988.
Today, the company's air conditioners are
the market leader in China and BROAD exports
its products to some 60 countries around
the world.
As well as regularly
featuring in lists of China's wealthiest
people, founder Zhang Yue has become one
of the most outspoken voices on the environment
in China, advocating, among other things,
for tighter government regulations on insulation
and building standards.
BROAD prides itself
on its green credentials and lists protecting
the environment, energy conservation and
reducing greenhouse gases among its key
company goals.
Indeed, BROAD states
that the cumulative effect of all its products
sold to date has led to emissions savings
of around 90 million tons of CO2, 1 million
tons of sulphur dioxide and 10,000 tons
of CFCs.
BROAD has been a member
of the United Nations Global Compact since
2001, and in 2008, the company joined the
Climate Group - an independent, not-for-profit
organization working internationally with
government and business leaders to advance
smart policies and technologies to cut global
emissions and accelerate a clean industrial
revolution.
"When I set up
my business, I challenged myself to create
wealth. Now, I have completely shifted the
focus of this business towards the direction
of reducing emissions. I've taken on the
challenge of climate change", said
Zhang Yue.
"With this award,
people will start to notice our work and
we will be able to influence them to pay
more attention to energy efficiency, whether
as an individual or as a business."
Louis Palmer (Switzerland)
Providing a green twist
on Jules Vernes' famous voyage, adventurer
Louis Palmer successfully led a fleet of
electric vehicles around the world in 80
days last year. In doing so, the "Zero
Race" highlighted two of the major
environmental challenges facing the world
today - the need for more sustainable transport
and cleaner energy supplies.
Teams from Australia,
Germany, Switzerland and South Korea took
part in the race, which followed a course
across four continents, before ending at
the United Nations in Geneva last January.
With their sleek, modern design and high
performance, the Zero Race vehicles embody
the major advancements currently underway
in the transport sector and how investment
in green technology is a key component of
tackling climate change.
The Zero Race is only
the latest chapter in Palmer's adventurous
career. In 2004, with the help of four Swiss
universities, he built the 'Solartaxi' and
became the first person to circumnavigate
the globe in a solar-powered vehicle. Traveling
through 38 countries, Palmer reached an
audience of millions with his solar showcase
for efficient, sustainable transportation.
Palmer's work continues
to deliver a simple, powerful environmental
message across the world: that modern solutions
to global warming are available, affordable
and ready.
"I feel absolutely
great to be recognized as a UNEP Champion
of the Earth", said Louis Palmer. "So
many people helped me and along the way
and we all feel honored that we get this
recognition. This change to renewable energies
has to happen and really it motivates not
only me but my whole team."
Angélique Kidjo
(Benin)
A voice loved by thousands
of fans around the world, singer-songwriter
Angélique Kidjo is also a powerful
voice for humanitarian and environmental
change. Described by Time Magazine as "Africa's
premier diva", Benin-born Kidjo uses
her celebrity status to speak out in support
of a number of important causes, particularly
girls' education and sustainable development.
Kidjo established The
Batonga Foundation in 2009, which provides
scholarships, school supplies and mentoring
programmes and raises community awareness
of the value of education for girls in Africa.
Kidjo was raised in
both the voodoo tradition and Catholic faith,
and speaks of how her childhood taught her
respect for nature. As part of her advocacy
work on the environment and sustainable
development, Kidjo recorded a video for
UNEP's 'Seal the Deal' campaign, encouraging
world leaders to produce a binding agreement
on cutting carbon emissions and tackling
climate change.
In 2010, Kidjo was appointed
as a Patron for the UN Music & Environment
Initiative. Led by the UNEP in collaboration
with the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other
partners, the initiative aims to leverage
the power of music to address some of the
most pressing environmental problems facing
the planet.
"Any time I can
spare from my family, my music, to go around
the world and work with different kinds
of people, that are struggling everyday
to make their lives better and other peoples
better, I will do so, because otherwise
why am I here?" said Kidjo.
"My life will be
useless, if I do not share my talent, my
skill and my spirit. I'm not made to live
alone, I'm made to live with other people
on this planet."
