As the world struggles to curb rising temperatures, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced the five 2025“Champions of the Earth,” figures who embody the mix of courage, innovation and doggedness without which the ecological transition remains on paper.
This year’s award-the highest given by the UN in the environmental field-is 20 years old and comes at a time when government promises are not enough, the most vulnerable countries are on the front lines and the climate is racing towards critical thresholds. Unep estimates that adaptation costs for developing countries could reach $310-365 billion a year by 2035, about twelve times current funding.
Yet against this alarming backdrop, the award-winning stories show that climate action produces concrete results, accelerates innovations, and saves lives.
When individual commitment becomes collective change
Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change. Climate justice that starts from the bottom up. The first accolade goes to a network of Pacific Island youth who, instead of waiting to be heard by the Greats of the Earth, took their case directly to the International Court of Justice. And they succeeded: a landmark opinion affirming the obligations of states in preventing climate damage and protecting the human rights of the most exposed populations. A precedent that is already influencing international law.
Supriya Sahu Cooling cities without consuming the Planet. In
Mariam Issoufou. Architecture that breathes with the land. Born in Niger, active between Africa and Europe, Issoufou has made sustainable design a political and cultural act. She uses local materials, integrates climate and tradition, and constructs buildings designed to withstand extreme heat. In his Hikma Community Complex structures stay up to 10°C cooler without resorting to air conditioning-a quiet revolution that could change the way people build in many regions of the world.
Imazon Technology against deforestation. In the Amazon, where part of the planet’s climate fate is decided, the research institute uses science and artificial intelligence to detect illegal logging, hidden fires and land vulnerabilities. Their analyses support thousands of court cases and have helped strengthen Brazilian forest governance. It is proof that AI, when employed with public vision, can become a decisive ally of conservation.
Manfredi Caltagirone The battle against methane, a legacy that continues. Lifetime Achievement Award to a key player in climate diplomacy often far from the spotlight. As head of the
Why these awards really matter
The “it can’t be done” narrative falters in the face of what these five examples demonstrate on a daily basis. Reducing methane lowers temperature in the short run. Protecting forests means preserving water, biodiversity and climate stability. Resilient, sustainably cooled buildings save lives during heat waves. Climate justice gives a voice to those at risk of losing it first.
The crisis is global, but solutions grow from the local, from individual ingenuity, from communities that do not wait for governments to move. And it is precisely this spirit that Unep has decided to celebrate.
