Zayed Sustainability Prize Launches New Category to Accelerate Climate Solutions and Protect the Planet for Future Generations

The Zayed Sustainability Prize, the UAE’s pioneering global award for recognising excellence in sustainability, has launched a special category called ‘Climate Action.’ This new category is aimed at recognising and promoting innovative solutions that address climate change and protect the planet's natural resources.

The launch of the Climate Action category coincides with the UAE's Year of Sustainability, a national initiative that aims to accelerate sustainable development across the country in line with the UAE’s national strategy. It also comes ahead of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will be hosted in the UAE later this year.

H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, and COP28 President-Designate said: “As we mark the UAE's Year of Sustainability and prepare to host COP28, it is more important than ever to recognise and support innovative solutions that protect the planet and people from the impacts of climate change. The UAE is committed to delivering a COP of Action – a solutions-focused COP that promotes inclusive sustainable development and accelerates the adoption of policies that will deliver across mitigation, adaptation, climate finance and loss and damage. The new Climate Action category of the Zayed Sustainability Prize reinforces this commitment by supporting the deployment of solutions the world needs today to keep the Paris Agreement alive and limit warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

H.E. Al Jaber added, “In this critical decade of action, the Climate Action category is a significant addition to the Prize's mandate, and we look forward to receiving submissions from around the world. We are proud to encourage and reward innovative solutions needed to turn climate pledges into concrete action, and drive tangible, inclusive and lasting progress for our planet and communities.”

The Zayed Sustainability Prize was established in 2008 as a tribute to the sustainability and humanitarian legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE. The Prize recognises organisations and high schools that are delivering impactful, and inspiring innovations across the categories of Health, Food, Energy, Water, Global High Schools and now Climate Action.

The new Climate Action category will further broaden the Prize’s reach and impact by rewarding solutions that protect and enhance the natural environment, while also addressing the urgent challenge of climate change. This includes organisations that promote climate adaptation, build resilience and deploy environmental solutions. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and nonprofit organisations (NPOs) are eligible to apply to the Climate Action category.

The Zayed Sustainability Prize has a 15-year track record of transforming lives by empowering sustainable solutions across health, food, energy and water. Now, through its special Climate Action category, and as the world’s efforts to fight climate change grows ever larger, the Prize will help scale innovative solutions that tackle environmental problems and enable communities to build climate resilience.

The Zayed Sustainability Prize has become a global platform for promoting sustainable development, with winners and finalists hailing from all corners of the planet. Today, the Prize celebrates 15 years of global impact with over 378 million people around the world benefiting from its 106 winners’ solutions.

The Prize rewards US $600,000 to each winner in the Health, Food, Energy, Water, and Climate Action categories. The Global High Schools category is split into six world regions, with each school able to claim up to US $100,000 to start or further expand their project.

The launch of the Climate Action category is expected to attract a wide range of submissions from around the world. The Zayed Sustainability Prize is calling for entries from nonprofit organisations and small and medium sized enterprises from now until 23 May 2023. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi.