2017 Climate and Clean Air Awards

The Climate and Clean Air Awards recognize exceptional contributions by individuals or groups to reduce short-lived climate pollutants - black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone and hydrofluorocarbons.

Fast action to reduce these pollutants is key to improving air quality and slowing the rate of climate change and also provides multiple benefits for health, ecosystems and the sustainable development goals. 

2017 Award Winners

The 2017 Climate and Clean Air Awards were announced on November 12th at a ceremony at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany (COP23).

This year the award was given out in four categories:

• Individual Achievement: recognizes the efforts by an individual to reduce short-lived climate pollutants.
• Outstanding Policy: recognizes air quality improvement and short-lived climate pollutant reduction policies that are bold and transformative.
• Innovative Technology: recognizes technological interventions to reduce air pollution and protect the climate that are ground-breaking, accessible and scalable.
• Transformative Action: recognizes an action or activity that has fundamentally changed attitudes, practices, and/or policies related to air pollution and climate change.

The shortlist

The inaugural Climate and Clean Air Awards attracted a large number of stellar candidates. From these 14 were shortlisted by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s Steering Committee for consideration by a panel of four judges.

See the nominees

Jury

Judges for the Climate & Clean Air Awards were:
    

• Ms. Annika Markovic, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
• Mr. Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, former Minister of State for Environment, Peru, and President of COP 20. He is the current head of WWF's global climate work. 
• Dr. Youba Sokona, Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
• Mr. Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary for Sustainable Development at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

Selection criteria

Award-winning entries were selected based on their direct or indirect contribution to reducing short-lived climate pollutant emissions and their ability to provide an innovative model for others to follow.

 Submissions were considered based on the following criteria:

• Collective or individual actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants: Efforts that directly or indirectly reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants
• Innovation in reducing short-lived climate pollutants: The development of ground-breaking technology, processes or policies that contribute to the reduction of short-lived climate pollutants
• Sharing and scaling up of activities: Catalytic actions that lead to increased investment and/or resources for short-lived climate pollutant projects, and the extent to which these actions can be shared and scaled up
• Demonstrating multiple benefits: The extent to which a project has positive benefits for society beyond improved air quality and avoided climate change, such as improved human health or ecosystem benefits
• Awareness raising: The extent to which projects and activities have created outreach materials, run awareness campaigns, and engaged media to raise awareness on the need to reduce short-lived climate pollutants and the benefits gained from their activities.