Young Champions of the Earth: UN

Young Champions of the Earth: UN

A 29-year-old Indian entrepreneur is among the seven winners of the prestigious "Young Champions of the Earth" 2020 prize given by the UN environment agency to global change-makers using innovative ideas and ambitious action to help solve some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges.

About Young Champions of the Earth 

The United Nations Environment Programme established Champions of the Earth in 2005 as an annual awards programme to recognize outstanding environmental leaders from the public and private sectors, and from civil society.

Typically, five to seven laureates are selected annually. Each laureate is invited to an award ceremony to receive a trophy, give an acceptance speech and take part in a press conference.

In 2017, the program was expanded to include Young Champions of the Earth – a forward-looking prize for talented innovators, 18 to 30, who demonstrate outstanding potential to create positive environmental impact.

In 2020, seven Young Champions of the Earth will be selected from each global region: Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, West Asia and two from Asia and the Pacific.

Each winner will receive USD 10,000 in seed funding, attendance at a high-level UN meeting, an introduction to dignitaries at the Champions of the Earth award ceremony, publicity and recognition through interviews and online and global media.

Seven Young Champions of the Earth of 2020

The Young Champions of the Earth prize is awarded every year to seven entrepreneurs under the age of 30 with bold ideas for sustainable environmental change. These seven winners are:-

1. Fatemah Alzelzela, Kuwait: (Eco Star - Trees for waste). A non-profit recycling initiative that exchanges trees and plants for waste from homes, schools and businesses.
2. Lefteris Arapakis, Greece: (Mediterranean CleanUp). Trains, empowers and incentivises the local fishing community to collect plastic from the sea, allowing both fish stocks and the ecosystem to recover.
3. Max Hidalgo Quinto, Peru: (YAWA). Sustainable technology for access to water building portable wind turbines that harvest up to 300 litres of water per day from atmospheric humidity and mist.
4. Niria Alicia Garcia, United States of America: (Run4Salmon). An indigenous-lead conservation uses virtual reality to bring to life the historical journey of the Sacramento chinook salmon along California’s largest watershed, raising awareness of this invaluable ecosystem, the species and people it supports.
5. Nzambi Matee, Kenya: (Building a Greener Kenya). Produces sustainable low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic waste and sand.
6. Xiaoyuan Ren, China: (MyH2O). A data platform for clean water that tests and records the quality of groundwater across a thousand villages in rural China into an app so residents know where to find clean water.
7. Vidyut Mohan, India: (Takachar). Harvesting value from agricultural waste.

About Takachar

Takachar is on a mission to fight climate change by transforming massive amounts of waste biomass into marketable products around the world.

Worldwide, $120 billion worth of crop and forest residues are burned in the open each year.  If used productively, these residues represent a $10 billion market globally.

Takachar's process can be a profitable way to make economic use of this biomass, while reducing air pollution.

Using a novel concept called oxygen-lean torrefaction, Takachar has developed and patented the design of small-scale, low-cost, portable equipment to convert waste biomass into solid fuel, fertilizer, and other specialty chemicals.

About United Nation Environment Program

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading environmental authority in the United Nations system.

UNEP uses its expertise to strengthen environmental standards and practices while helping implement environmental obligations at the country, regional and global levels.

UNEP’s mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

What are the Six areas of Concentration of UNEP

Climate Change UNEP strengthens the ability of countries to integrate climate change responses by providing leadership in adaptation, mitigation, technology and finance.

Post-Conflict and Disaster Management UNEP conducts environmental assessments in crisis-affected countries and provides guidance for implementing legislative and institutional frameworks for improved environmental management.

Ecosystem Management facilitates management and restoration of ecosystems in a manner consistent with sustainable development, and promotes use of ecosystem services.

Environmental Governance UNEP supports governments in establishing, implementing and strengthening the necessary processes, institutions, laws, policies and programs to achieve sustainable development at the country, regional and global levels, and mainstreaming environment in development planning.

Harmful Substances UNEP strives to minimise the impact of harmful substances and hazardous waste on the environment and human beings.

Resource Efficiency/Sustainable Consumption and Production UNEP focuses on regional and global efforts to ensure natural resources are produced, processed and consumed in a more environmentally friendly way.