United Nations Environment Program: Seven Champions of the Earth 2008

United Nations Environment Program:
Seven Champions of the Earth 2008

On April 22 and 23, the United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP’s) Business for the Environment Global Summit 2008 was held in Singapore with over 400 high-powered delegates from around the world discussing and agreeing on causes, problems and solutions to the global environmental situation. Each year the Summit focuses on a different theme, which this year was Resource Efficiency and Renewable Energy, highlighting how governments and private industries need to work together to create business and markets in a climate of global change. The overall message of the conference was that the world’s governments need to provide incentives and frameworks by which private enterprises can operate, and that private businesses and entrepreneurs need to rise to the call of changing their practices to be sustainable and responsible.

The UNEP conference also hosts and presents The Champions of the Earth 2008 award ceremony. This highly-regarded award is presented by UNEP to seven outstanding scientists, politicians and activists from around the world in recognition of their efforts to help in global sustainability, carbon reduction and the fight against global warming. Gracing the event were Singapore’s former Prime Minister Mr. Goh Chok Tong and several cabinet ministers and captains of industry, in addition to international dignitaries and delegates such as H.E. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives; Hon. Goren Persson, former Prime Minister of Sweden; and Mr. Achim Steiner, Executive Director UNEP.

This year’s Champions of the Earth were:

☆The Right Honorable Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
☆His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco
☆Dr. Balgis Osman-Elasha, Senior Scientist of Sudan and IPCC member
☆Dr. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Bangladesh
☆Senator Elizabeth Thompson, former Minister of Environment and Energy, Barbados
☆Mr. Timothy Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation and former US Senator
☆H.E. Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal, former Prime Minister of Yemen

By setting a carbon neutral goal for New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark has put her country at the forefront of today’s environmental challenges. Three major policy initiatives launched by the Prime Minister are also blazing new trails for sustainability and the fight against climate change: the Emissions Trading Scheme, the Energy Strategy and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy. The New Zealand government is also achieving substantial gains in environmental protection, from forestry and agriculture to improving public awareness and boosting private-sector involvement in sustainability.

One of Prince Albert II’s first acts as sovereign of Monaco was to sign the Kyoto Protocol. The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, created in 2006, works actively on protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development, with a focus on biodiversity loss, water and the fight against climate change. Under the Prince’s leadership Monaco is applying an exemplary policy on CO2 reduction in both the public and private sectors.

Dr. Balgis Osman-Elasha, a senior scientist from Sudan, is a leading author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. Given the strong inter-connections between climate change and conflict in the country, her emphasis on global warming and adaptation in Sudan is vital. Dr. Osman-Elasha is also helping raise awareness about climate change among the country’s younger generation by educating Sudanese university students on the issue.

Dr. Atiq Rahman is a top specialist in his field and the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS). His extensive publications on the subjects of environment and development in Bangladesh, a country highly vulnerable to climate change and flooding, provide a reference for his peers, and he has also developed an innovative post-graduate course on sustainable development and North-South dialogue (on economic and other issues between developing countries, mostly in the southern hemisphere, and developed countries, mostly in the northern hemisphere).

Ms. Thompson has become a recognized leader on environmental issues among the Small Island Developing States. During her time as Minister of Energy and the Environment in Barbados she enacted a range of progressive policies for sustainable development and environmental protection. Additionally she encouraged small-island states to diversify their economies, undertake sustainability assessments and promote community-based programs that have positive environmental impacts.

As president of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund, Mr. Wirth has established the environment as a key priority and is mobilizing numerous resources to address crucial issues from biodiversity to climate change and renewable energy. A strong supporter of the Kyoto Protocol, Mr. Wirth was instrumental in raising awareness of and calling for policy action on global warming during his time as US Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs. Mr. Wirth authored the Colorado Wilderness Bill as well as other successful legislation on energy, conservation and environmental protection.

During his time as Minister and then Prime Minister of Yemen, H.E. Ba-Jammal established the country’s Ministry of Water and Environment and Environment Protection Authority and solicited national and international funding for environmental conservation and sustainable water management. H.E. Ba-Jammal also orchestrated conservation efforts for the Socotra archipelago, a site of global importance for biodiversity, supported the declaration of several marine and land-protected areas in Yemen and established a state agency for the development of Yemeni islands with a focus on marine-resource conservation.

Congratulations to the Seven Champions of the Earth! May their endeavors continue to bless our Earth with beneficial changes for a sustainable future.