The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recognized five exceptional climate leaders as its 2025 Champions of the Earth, highlighting individuals and organizations driving significant action on climate change and environmental sustainability.
The award, which is UNEP’s highest environmental honour, celebrates those delivering innovative solutions across critical areas such as climate justice, sustainable cooling, resilient buildings, forest conservation, and methane emissions reduction.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen stressed the growing urgency of global climate impacts, noting that leadership and innovation across all sectors of society are essential to address the escalating crisis and inspire transformative action worldwide.
Leading the five 2025 laureates is Mariam Issoufou, Principal and Founder of Mariam Issoufou Architects in Niger and France, who received recognition for her entrepreneurial strides in sustainable architecture.
By utilizing local materials and cultural heritage, Ms Issoufou is pioneering climate-resilient buildings across the Sahel, incorporating passive cooling techniques that reduce indoor temperatures by up to 10°C without air conditioning, thus inspiring a new generation of designers.
Also recognised is a youth-led NGO from the Pacific Islands, which has successfully secured a landmark opinion from the International Court of Justice affirming states’ legal obligations to prevent climate harm and protect human rights.
Their efforts are reshaping global climate law while empowering vulnerable nations to demand stronger environmental accountability.
Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary for Environment, Climate Change, and Forests in Tamil Nadu, India, was honoured for her leadership in sustainable cooling and ecosystem restoration.
Her initiatives have generated 2.5 million green jobs, expanded forest cover, integrated heat adaptation into infrastructure, and benefited approximately 12 million people, establishing a replicable model for climate resilience.
Brazilian research institute Imazon was awarded for science and innovation, leveraging AI-driven geospatial tools to monitor and curb deforestation, strengthen forest governance, support thousands of legal cases, and reveal the scale of illegal deforestation in the Amazon.
Manfredi Caltagirone, recognized posthumously for lifetime achievement, served as head of UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory.
His work advanced transparency and science-based action on methane emissions, influenced the EU’s first regulation on methane, and shaped global energy policy.
This year’s laureates are responding to urgent climate threats, with global temperatures projected to exceed 1.5°C within the next decade and adaptation costs for developing nations potentially reaching $310–$365 billion annually by 2035.
UNEP underscores that efforts to reduce methane emissions, restore forests, implement sustainable cooling, and ensure climate justice are critical to safeguarding ecosystems, improving air quality, creating jobs, and protecting vulnerable communities.
The recognition of these leaders demonstrates that impactful climate action is possible and highlights pathways for other governments, organizations, and individuals to implement effective solutions to the planet’s pressing environmental challenges.
Born in Saint-Étienne, France, Issoufou’s unique blend of computer science and architecture has enabled her to create structures that not only defy conventional norms but also harmonize with the environment.
NatureNews notes that her notable projects include the Hikma Community Complex in Dandaji, Niger, which won two Global LafargeHolcim Awards, and the Niamey 2000 Housing, shortlisted for the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
Issoufou’s academic and professional achievements are equally impressive. She is currently a professor of architecture and sustainability at ETH Zurich and Adjunct Associate Professor of Urban Studies at Brown University.
Her contributions to sustainable architecture have been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2019 Prince Claus Award and being named one of 15 Creative Women of Our Time by The New York Times.
Through her work, Issoufou inspires a new generation of designers and architects, demonstrating that sustainability and cultural heritage can converge to create a better future.
Her philosophy, centred on sustaining people, economies, cultures, and expertise, has made her a beacon of hope in the pursuit of environmental sustainability.