President Nasheed has won the ‘Champions of the Earth’ Award, the United Nations’ most prestigious environmental prize.
The President was awarded the prize, in the category of policy and leadership, during a ceremony today in South Korea.
Six individuals have been awarded the 2010 ‘Champions of the Earth’ laureate, for their outstanding contributions to environmental protection.
This years winners include Zhou Xun, aChinese film star and popular green lifestyle guru and Dr. Taro Takahashi, a pioneering Japanese earth scientist.
At a press conference to announce the award, during the ‘Business for the Environment’ Global Summit in Seoul, the head of the United Nations Environment Program, Achim Steiner, said:
“The six winners represent some of the key pillars upon which society can build Green Growth and a development path to unite rather than divide six billion people.”
“President Nasheed is not only an articulate voice for the vulnerable and the poor facing the challenges of global warming, but a politician who is showcasing to the rest of the world how a transition to climate neutrality can be achieved and how all nations, no matter how big or how small, can contribute,”Mr Steiner added.
President Nasheedaccepted the award on behalf of the whole Maldives. He said the prize was recognition of the growing importance of the Maldives on the issue of global climate change.
“It goes to show that by doing the right thing, a small country can make a big impact on the world stage,” the President said.
The President will receive his Champions of the Earth trophy at a gala dinner in Seoul on Thursday evening.
The awards are being held in conjunction with the Business for the Environment Global Summit, which is being attended by more than 1,000 representatives from business, government, and civil society.
Previous Champions of the Earth Award winners include former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, and former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark.
