12/16/2019 Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award Announced | UNFCCC

EN
(/)
News

News (/news) Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award Announced

UN CLIMATE PRESS RELEASE / 27 SEP, 2018

Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award

Announced

()

15 Global Climate Action Projects Will be Recognized at the UN Climate Conference (COP24) in
Poland

(New York City, 27 September 2018) – The United Nations Climate Change Secretariat
Searchtoday
announced UNFCCC
the 15 recipients of the 2018 UN ‘Momentum for Change’ climate action
award.

https://unfccc.int/news/winners-of-2018-un-climate-action-award-announced 1/8
12/16/2019 Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award Announced | UNFCCC

“These activities shine a light on scalable climate action around the world,” said Patricia
Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change. “They are proof that climate action
isn’t only possible, it’s innovative, it’s exciting and it makes a di erence.”

Activities range from a mobile app that promotes the ght against food waste and hunger
worldwide to an entire government that is taking 100% responsibility for its greenhouse gas
emissions.

Representatives from the following ve winning activities will speak about their solutions to
climate change at a special event co-hosted by The Climate Group at Climate Week in New
York City this evening:

Creating the Greenest Football Club in the World - Forest Green Rovers | United
Kingdom: The Forest Green Rovers are bringing eco-thinking, sustainable living, and
renewable technology to football fans.
Catalytic Finance Initiative | Global: Bank of America Merrill Lynch is working with
partners to mobilize approximately USD 10 billion for innovative and high-impact climate
mitigation and sustainability-focused investments.
Santiago Biofactory | Chile: Water utility company, Aguas Andinas, is transforming
Santiago’s three wastewater treatment plants into “biofactories” that convert wastewater
and sewer sludge, a wastewater treatment byproduct, into clean energy.
Carbon Neutral Government Program | Canada: In 2010, British Columbia became the
rst government at the provincial, territorial, or state level in North America to take 100%
responsibility for its greenhouse gas pollution.
Sri Lanka Mangrove Conservation Project | Sri Lanka: Seacology, a nonpro t
environmental conservation organization, is helping Sri Lanka become the rst nation in
history to preserve and replant all of its mangrove forests.

Other winners include:

“Yalla Let’s Bike”, a women-powered initiative that aims to end verbal harassment of
female cyclists in Syria while simultaneously ghting climate change;
Monash, Australia’s largest university which has committed to reaching net zero
emissions by 2030, and;
Climate-E cient School Kitchens and Plant-Powered Pupils, Two initiatives which are
providing healthy, climate-friendly meals in German schools, initiated by IZT (KEEKS), a
non-pro t research organization and ProVeg international (Plant Powered Pupils), a
nonpro t food awareness organisation.

“Climate action leaders, including those recognized by the Momentum for Change initiative,
are stepping up to meet the global climate challenge by delivering on the Paris Agreement,”
said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “These inspirational leaders, from
communities, governments, businesses and organizations, come from all corners of the
Search
globe UNFCCC
and all levels of society. Their winning projects range from transformative nancial
investments to women-led solutions to protect people and the planet. Through their
leadership and creativity, we see essential change.”

https://unfccc.int/news/winners-of-2018-un-climate-action-award-announced 2/8
12/16/2019 Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award Announced | UNFCCC

The
Momentum for Change
(http://unfccc.int/secretariat/momentum_for_change/items/6214.php)
initiative, spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat, shines light on some of the
most practical examples of what people across the globe are doing to combat climate
change.

Selected initiatives, called ‘Lighthouse Activities,’ demonstrate the unprecedented amount

of climate action happening around the world. Today’s announcement is part of a wider
e ort to mobilize action and ambition as national governments work toward implementing
the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals at COP24 in
Poland.

The 15 winning activities fall within one of Momentum for Change’s four focus areas: (1)
Planetary Health (http://unfccc.int/secretariat/momentum_for_change/items/10086.php),
(2)
Climate Neutral Now
(http://unfccc.int/secretariat/momentum_for_change/items/10087.php)
, (3)
Women for Results (http://unfccc.int/secretariat/momentum_for_change/items/7318.php)
, and (4)
Financing for Climate Friendly Investment
(http://unfccc.int/secretariat/momentum_for_change/items/7319.php)
. All activities will be showcased at a series of special events during the UN Climate Change
Conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland (2-14 December 2018).

The 2018 Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activities are:

Planetary Health

Climate-E cient School Kitchens and Plant-Powered Pupils

(https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/planetary-health/climate-
e cient-school-kitchens-and-plant-powered-pupils)
| Germany: ProVeg International is providing healthy, climate-friendly meals in German
schools.
Santiago Biofactory (https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-
change/planetary-health/santiago-biofactory-chile)
| Chile: Aguas Andinas, Chile’s largest water utility company together with its main
shareholder SUEZ, is transforming Santiago’s three wastewater treatment plants into
"biofactories” that convert wastewater and sewer sludge, a wastewater treatment by-
product, into clean energy.
Composting Waste Treatment: An Ecological Solution to Poverty and Climate Change
Search UNFCCC
(https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/planetary-
health/composting-waste-treatment-an-ecological-solution-to-poverty-and-climate-
change)
| Haiti: Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) is building composting toilets in
https://unfccc.int/news/winners-of-2018-un-climate-action-award-announced 3/8
12/16/2019 Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award Announced | UNFCCC

Haiti, reducing the spread of diseases like cholera and typhoid, creating jobs, and
restoring local environments.
Sri Lanka Mangrove Conservation Project (https://unfccc.int/climate-
action/momentum-for-change/planetary-health/sri-lanka-mangrove-conservation-
project)
| Sri Lanka: Seacology, a nonpro t environmental conservation organization, is helping
Sri Lanka become the rst nation in history to preserve and replant all of its mangrove
forests.

Climate Neutral Now

Creating the Greenest Football Club in the World - Forest Green Rovers
(https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/climate-neutral-
now/creating-the-greenest-football-club-in-the-world-forest-green-rovers)
| United Kingdom: The Forest Green Rovers is bringing eco-thinking and technology to a
new and large audience: football fans. In 2010, the team began its journey to becoming the
world’s rst carbon neutral football club and has since been described by FIFA, as “the
world's greenest football club”.
Monash’s Net Zero Initiative (https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-
change/climate-neutral-now/monash-s-net-zero-initiative)
| Australia: Monash University, Australia’s largest university, has committed to reach net
zero emissions by 2030 for all four of its Australian campuses.
Klimanjaro – Climate Neutral Supply Chain (https://unfccc.int/climate-
action/momentum-for-change/climate-neutral-now/klimanjaro-climate-neutral-
supply-chain)
| Norway: Fjordkraft, the second largest electricity retailer in Norway, is using its
purchasing power to inspire all its suppliers to be climate neutral by 2019.
Carbon Neutral Government Program (https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-
for-change/climate-neutral-now/carbon-neutral-government-program-canada)
| Canada: In 2010, British Columbia became the rst government at the provincial,
territorial, or state level in North America to take 100% responsibility for the greenhouse
gas pollution from all 128 of its public-sector organizations.

Women for Results

 
“Yalla Let’s Bike” Initiative (https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-
change/women-for-results/yalla-lets-bike)
| Syria: Women are defying traditional gender roles and combatting overcrowded streets
by promoting bicycling as a healthy and sustainable mode of transportation in the war-
ridden city of Damascus.
 
Women Leading a Food Sharing Revolution! (https://unfccc.int/climate-
Search UNFCCC
action/momentum-for-change/women-for-results/women-leading-a-food-sharing-
revolution)
| UK, Sweden, USA: Women are leading a food revolution with OLIO, the world's only

https://unfccc.int/news/winners-of-2018-un-climate-action-award-announced 4/8
12/16/2019 Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award Announced | UNFCCC

neighbor-to-neighbor food sharing app. OLIO is co-founded and led by women and two-
thirds of the app’s users are women.
HelpUsGreen (https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/women-for-
results/helpusgreen)
| India: Women are creating compost from ceremonial owers and simultaneously
cleaning up the River Ganges.
Feminist Electri cation: Ensuring Pro-Women Outcomes in Rural Energy Access
(https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/women-for-
results/feminist-electri cation)
| Haiti: Energy poverty, a lack of access to modern energy services, is disproportionally
a ecting women in rural areas. So, EarthSpark International, a women-run enterprise, is
meeting this challenge head on by approaching all its energy access projects with a gender
lens, referring to this as “feminist electri cation.”

Financing for Climate Friendly Investment

Rwanda Green Fund – FONERWA (https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-

change/ nancing-for-climate-friendly-investment/rwanda-green-fund-fonerwa)
| Rwanda: The Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA) is investing in public and private projects
that drive transformative change. It is one of the rst national environment and climate
change investment funds in Africa.
The MAIS Program (https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-
change/ nancing-for-climate-friendly-investment/mais-program-climate-smart-
agriculture)
| Brazil: The MAIS Program (Modulo Agroclimático Inteligente e Sustentável) is helping
family agricultural operations adapt to climate change in the Jacuípe Basin, Brazil’s semi-
arid region. It is one of the rst ever climate smart agricultural programmes to
mainstream climate disruptive technologies among farmers in Brazil.
Catalytic Finance Initiative (https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-
change/ nancing-for-climate-friendly-investment/catalytic- nance-initiative)
| Global: Bank of America Merrill Lynch is working with partners to mobilize
approximately USD 10 billion for innovative and high-impact climate mitigation and
sustainability-focused investments.

The 2018 Lighthouse Activities were selected by an international advisory panel as part of
the secretariat’s Momentum for Change initiative, which is implemented with the support
of  The Rockefeller Foundation (https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/), and operates in
partnership with the World Economic Forum (https://www.weforum.org/), Masdar’s
Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy Forum
(http://www.masdar.ae/en/intiatives/wiser)
(WiSER) initiative, and  
Climate Neutral Now (https://unfccc.int/climate-action/climate-neutral-now).

Search
 “This UNFCCC
year, we had over 560 applications from all over the world ranging from businesses
and governments to communities and organizations,” said Martha Delgado Peralta, Chair of
the Momentum for Change Advisory Panel. “This year’s 15 winning activities are truly ne

https://unfccc.int/news/winners-of-2018-un-climate-action-award-announced 5/8
12/16/2019 Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award Announced | UNFCCC

examples of innovative, scalable, and replicable climate action.”

Digital assets:

Photos, fact sheets, and other assets are available for download on this
Trello Board (https://trello.com/b/z3WPbWGa/momentum-for-change-2018).

For more information, please contact:

Sarah Marchildon, UN Climate Change

Team Lead, Momentum for Change

SMarchildon@unfccc.int (mailto:SMarchildon@unfccc.int)

Melissa Angel, UN Climate Change

Communications, Momentum for Change

MAngel@unfccc.int (mailto:MAngel@unfccc.int) | +49 228 815 1602

Related News

UN CLIMATE PRESS RELEASE UN CLIMATE PRESS RELEASE

UN Awards Ceremony Celebrates Innovative COP25 to Be the Launchpad for Significantly

Climate S… more C…

10 DEC, 2019 29 NOV, 2019

(https://unfccc.int/news/un-awards-ceremony- (https://unfccc.int/news/cop25-to-be-the-launchpad-
celebrates-innovative-climate-solutions) for-significantly-more-climate-ambition-0)

Search UNFCCC

https://unfccc.int/news/winners-of-2018-un-climate-action-award-announced 6/8
12/16/2019 Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award Announced | UNFCCC

UN CLIMATE PRESS RELEASE

Global Climate Action Presents a Blueprint for a 1.5-

Degree World
UN Climate Change News, 13 December 2019 - At the UN Climate Change Conference
(COP25) in Madrid, Global Climate Action brought together leaders from across sectors
and borders for a lively series of events,  which were given concrete de nition with the
publication of the Climate Action…

13 DEC, 2019

(https://unfccc.int/news/global-climate-action-presents-a-blueprint-for-a-15-degree-world)

UN CLIMATE PRESS RELEASE UN CLIMATE PRESS RELEASE

Information Update on Chile COP25, to be Regional Collaboration Centre Established in

Held in M… Dubai…

Search UNFCCC
05 NOV, 2019 20 OCT, 2019

(https://unfccc.int/news/information-update-on-chile- (https://unfccc.int/news/regional-collaboration-centre-
cop25-to-be-held-in-madrid-on-2-13-december-2019) established-in-dubai)

https://unfccc.int/news/winners-of-2018-un-climate-action-award-announced 7/8
12/16/2019 Winners of 2018 UN Climate Action Award Announced | UNFCCC

(/)

THIS SITE
Code of conduct (https://unfccc.int/code-of-conduct-for-unfccc-conferences-meetings-and-events)

Terms of use (/this-site/terms-of-use)

Calendar disclaimer (/this-site/calendar-disclaimer)

Fraud Alert (/this-site/fraud-alert)

Contact (/about-us/contact-and-directions/find-contact-by-issue)

Change the contrast

2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

https://unfccc.int/news/winners-of-2018-un-climate-action-award-announced 8/8