Environmental champions push for rapid climate action
August 18, 2020
There’s a big gap between what humanity needs to do to prevent the worst impacts of climate change and the steps we are taking. We need to go further and faster. The IKEA Foundation encourages unprecedented collaboration between diverse organisations to achieve net-zero emissions. At the same time, we believe that visionary leaders can help us reach a tipping point.
Our partner Climate Breakthrough is giving talented climate leaders the time, space and financial support to create and implement bold solutions that radically cut greenhouse gas emissions in their countries and around the world. These environmental champions all have a track record of creating new solutions that overcome seemingly intractable barriers.
Each year, Climate Breakthrough finds and supports three to four exceptional leaders in the field of climate action. Each awardee develops an ambitious plan to reduce emissions within 10 years that has the potential to make a global impact.
Nguy Thi Khanh, one of the project’s awardees, is working to break Vietnam’s coal habit and transition the country and region to clean energy. Her grassroots advocacy work earned her the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018.
Ms. Khanh grew up in a village where a coal plant polluted the environment and the population suffered high rates of cancer. She uses science-based arguments to highlight the true cost of coal and works with Vietnamese officials to make a convincing case for sustainable alternatives.
Climate leaders
Climate Breakthrough awardees are thinkers who can visualise and implement solutions with global impact and push beyond what others consider possible. Climate Breakthrough identifies hundreds of potential candidates through their scouts and networks across the globe each year. They select their awardees every year on a rolling basis. To date, the project has supported nine awardees from eight countries: Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Australia, Canada, the US, Argentina and the UK.
“The IKEA Foundation is proud to partner with Climate Breakthrough, because we believe it is vital to enable visionary leaders to develop strategies that will help protect our planet for future generations,” says Liz McKeon, Programme Lead of IKEA Foundation’s Climate Action portfolio.
