22 April 2010: Achim Steiner, Under-Secretary-General and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, announced the six winners of this year’s UN Champions of the Earth prize, which recognizes leadership in environmental conservation.
The winners are: Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who has received global recognition for his efforts to curb climate change and raise awareness of environmental issues, particularly as they relate to island-nations; Taro Takahashi, Japanese Earth scientist and pioneer of research into how the oceans cycle carbon; President Bharrat Jagdeoof Guyana, an advocate of the need to conserve and more intelligently manage the planet’s natural and nature-based assets; Vinod Khosla, US venture capitalist and Sun Microsystems co-founder, for his efforts as a green energy entrepreneur; Prince Mostapha Zaher, Afghanistan’s Director General of the National Environmental Protection Agency and sustainability advocate; and Chinese actress Zhou Xun, who encourages people to reduce their carbon print through her “tips for green living” initiative.
The prizes were presented at a gala event in Seoul, Republic of Korea, to mark International Mother Earth Day, in conjunction with the Business for the Environment Global Summit. [UNEP Press Release]