This morning (November 19, 2014) something good got done again about climate change. At the National Press Club in Washington, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced top honors for seven environment visionaries–Champions of the Earth–who have served the planet well.
Those honored as United Nations Champions of the Earth 2014 Laureates:
- H.E Tommy Remengesau, President of Palau
- Achim Steiner, UN Environment Programme Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary-General)
- Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of U.S. Green Building Council
- Sylvia Earle, Renowned Ocean Conservationist and Ocean Explorer
- Robert Watson, Environmental Scientist
- Boyan Slat, Founder of The Ocean Cleanup Initiative
- Fatima Jibrell, Founder of the Adeso nongovernmental organization in Africa
These innovators, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and activists have served the environment by saving lives, improving human circumstances, and strengthening environmental governance and conservation.
Officials also did a quick run-through about the latest report on how we’re going to cut critical global fossil fuel emissions to try to avert their worst climate impacts. Here’s the gist of their message:
“Total greenhouse gas emissions must start falling in the next few years and hit net zero by the second half of the century in order to limit global temperature rise and head off the worst impacts of climate change, a new United Nations Environment Programme report says. As nations prepare to gather in Lima, Peru, for the latest round of negotiations in agreeing a new climate treaty, the fifth edition of the Emissions Gap Report lays out a roadmap for the cuts required to limit global warming to 2°C in this century.”
This evening, a Green Carpet and Award Ceremony/Gala Dinner to honor the Champions of the Earth will take place at the National Portrait Gallery in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Guests will come from government, the entertainment industry, civil society, and the private sector.
