25 November 2014: The UNFCCC’s Momentum for Change initiative has announced the 12 winners of the 2014 Lighthouse Activity Awards, which include both “large, game-changing solutions and small, entrepreneurial efforts.” Each of the 12 activities touches on one of four areas related to action: by and for the urban poor; that fosters women’s leadership; that unlocks climate finance; and action that uses information and communications technology (ICT) solutions.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres underlined that these 12 activities are “shining examples of climate change action” and that with the addition of a focus area on ICT, this year’s Lighthouse Activities “encompass a wider and more diverse range of solutions than ever before.” Figueres stressed that the 2014 Lighthouse Activities are helping communities, cities, businesses, governments and institutions move towards a low-carbon, highly resilient future.

Winning activities include: an innovation solution to Kolkata’s solid waste problem through recycling; a women-led solar power company in Thailand; saving energy through innovative financing; an ICT-enabled solution that is helping industrial and commercial energy consumers in India and Malaysia monitor, analyze and optimize energy use; building climate-friendly homes in sub-Saharan Africa; empowering women with green jobs and low-carbon technologies in remote rural Indonesian communities; building microfinance institutions in Latin America so enterprises have the appropriate tools and know-how to develop and offer green financial products that help clients address climate change; community-based early warning systems using a flood sensor attached to a transmitter to detect rising water levels in the Indian Himalayan region; a national resettlement plan in Uruguay; building storm-resistant homes in Da Nang City, Viet Nam; building agricultural resilience by harvesting rainwater in Gujarat, India; and enhancing flood resilience through insurance expertise.

A 25-member international advisory panel selected the 12 winners out of 140 submissions. The winners will be honored at the UN Climate Conference in Lima, Peru, on 10 December 2014. Momentum for Change is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation, and operates in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative. [UNFCCC Press Release] [2014 Lighthouse Activities Brochure] [Momentum for Change Website]