IAS officer Supriya Sahu receives UNEP’s Champions of the Earth award

• The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) named five climate forerunners as its 2025 Champions of the Earth. 

• These five extraordinary leaders work on issues ranging from climate justice to sustainable cooling and forest protection.

• UNEP’s Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour, celebrating environmental leaders who deliver important solutions in their fields.

• Tamil Nadu Additional Chief Secretary in the Environment, Climate Change and Forests department, Supriya Sahu was among the winners of this year.

• In 2024, ecologist Madhav Gadgil was honoured with this award.

Supriya Sahu helps disadvantaged communities adapt to rising heat

• A pioneer in sustainable cooling and ecosystem restoration, Sahu’s initiatives have created 2.5 million green jobs, expanded forest cover, and integrated heat adaptation into infrastructure, benefiting 12 million people and setting a model for climate resilience.

• Supriya Sahu has served as additional chief secretary for the past four and a half years. During this time, she has positioned Tamil Nadu as a global leader in climate mitigation, adaptation and heat resilience. 

• Her initiatives have showcased how integrated governance and nature-based solutions, along with a mix of low and high-tech interventions, can protect vulnerable communities, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

This year's other winners are: 

i) Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change: 

A youth-led NGO that secured a landmark opinion from the International Court of Justice affirming states’ legal obligations to prevent climate harm and protect human rights, their campaign is reshaping global climate law and empowering vulnerable nations.

ii) Mariam Issoufou, Principal and Founder, Mariam Issoufou Architects, Niger/France: 

By grounding her architecture in local materials and cultural heritage, Issoufou is redefining sustainable, climate-resilient buildings across the Sahel and inspiring a new generation of designers shaping Africa’s built environment. Through projects like the Hikma Community Complex in Niger, she pioneered passive cooling techniques that keep buildings up to 10°C cooler without air conditioning.

iii) Imazon, Brazil: 

A research institute combining science and AI-driven geospatial tools to curb deforestation, Imazon’s work has strengthened forest governance, supported thousands of legal cases, and revealed the scale of illegal deforestation—driving systemic change in the Amazon.

iv) Manfredi Caltagirone (posthumous) – Lifetime Achievement

Former head of UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, Caltagirone championed transparency and science-based action on methane, influencing the EU’s first regulation on methane emissions and shaping global energy policy.

Champions of the Earth award

• Established in 2005, the Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour.

• Every year, UNEP honours individuals and organisations working on innovative and sustainable solutions. 

Champions of the Earth are celebrated in four categories:

i) Policy leadership

ii) Inspiration and action.

iii) Entrepreneurial vision.

iv) Science and innovation.

• 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the Champions of the Earth awards.

• Since its inception in 2005, UNEP has recognised 127 laureates, including 28 world leaders, 77 individuals and 22 organisations.