UN to showcase 'game changing' climate projects at Paris Summit
Momentum for Change Awards handed to an eclectic mix of on-the-ground projects addressing climate change
A host of "game-changing" businesses were named today as the winners of a UN competition to identify innovative, scalable and replicable examples of projects that are successfully tackling climate change.
The sixteen winners of the Momentum for Change Awards include the producers of the ethical smartphone Fairphone, a collaboration between car companies to build a network of electric vehicle charging stations in the US, and an investment model where cocoa farmers in Peru are paid to restore degraded land rather than deforest further.
The initiative was spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat in the lead up to the Paris climate negotiations next month in an effort to highlight some of the most creative examples of how businesses and communities can tackle climate change risks.
"With less than 35 days to go until the climate change conference in Paris, the Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activities are further compelling proof that climate action is building worldwide and in countries, communities, companies and cities everywhere," said Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UNFCCC.
"By showcasing these remarkable solutions and the people behind them we can strengthen efforts toward that new agreement, accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon, highly resilient development path and mark a turning point in the sustainable management of planet Earth for the seven billion alive today and the ten billion by 2050."
Microsoft was also named as a winner at the awards thanks to its model of introducing a gradually rising carbon price on its internal operations.
In addition, solar companies Mobisol's and Azuri PayGo Energy's rent-to-own models to allow low-income households in Africa to install home solar systems were both winners, as was Fostering Cleaner Production, an alliance bringing women together from different construction industries in Columbia to clean up polluting practices.
The winners in each of the four categories - urban poor, women for results, financing for climate friendly investment and information and communication technology (ICT) solutions - will be promoted on the UNFCCC's website and are due to be showcased at a series of events during the Paris climate conference.
This article is part of BusinessGreen's Road to Paris hub, hosted in association with PwC
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