World Economic Forum

01/23/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/23/2025 15:06

Pioneering Climate and Nature Partnerships Honoured at Inaugural ‘Giving to Amplify Earth Action’ Awards

World Economic Forum, [email protected]

  • The inaugural Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) Awards recognize groundbreaking partnerships tackling global climate and nature challenges with innovative, scalable solutions.
  • From over 120 initial nominations, an expert independent jury selected five transformative initiatives driving systemic change worldwide: Decarbonising Rice, Built by Nature, HYBRIT, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and Youth Climate Justice Fund.
  • The awardees are honoured for pioneering, adaptable, impact-driven efforts in science, innovation, business action, cross-sector partnerships and intergenerational leadership.
  • Learn more about the new GAEA Awards here and the GAEA Initiative here. Follow the Annual Meeting here and on social media using #WEF25.

Davos-Klosters, 24 January 2025 - The World Economic Forum's inaugural Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) Awards yesterday honoured five groundbreaking initiatives that are advancing transformative solutions to the world's most pressing climate and nature challenges. The innovative collaborations awarded last night in Davos exemplify the scale, pace and ingenuity needed to drive meaningful, sustainable progress in addressing global environmental crises.

Developed by the World Economic Forum alongside strategic knowledge partner Kearney and a global community of cross-sector experts, the GAEA Awards honour partnerships that are advancing critical climate and nature goals in five key categories: Climate, Nature and Resilience Science; Innovation Ecosystem; Business Action; Philanthropic-Public-Private Partnership; and Intergenerational Leadership. The five awarded collaborations will receive tailored support throughout 2025 to advance and scale impact and drive systems-wide change.

"The GAEA Awards recognize institutions and partnerships that are catalysing transformative change for climate and nature," said Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director, World Economic Forum."By showcasing successful innovations and collaborations across industry partners, and between government, business and civil society, we hope to inspire more to step forward and work together to shape a sustainable future for all."

The five cross-sector collaborations honoured in the five GAEA award categories are:

  • The Breakthrough Scientific Contribution Award honours climate and nature initiatives that are pioneering transformative scientific advancements and fostering collaboration across diverse stakeholders. This year's winner, Decarbonising Rice, is revolutionizing the sustainability of one of the world's most critical crops. By employing novel scientific methodologies and fostering collaboration between rice farmers, governments and the private sector, the initiative has reduced methane emissions by 20% to 50% and water use by around 50%, with a 5% to 10% improvement in yields during trials in Singapore and India. Production is now being expanded to 100-hectare trials in India, Laos and Indonesia.
  • The Impactful Innovation Accelerator Award recognizes solutions that are helping create enabling ecosystems for climate and nature innovation. This year's winner, Built by Nature(BbN), is promoting sustainable timber construction materials to reduce embodied carbon - the carbon emissions associated with the production and transport of building materials - and support forest stewardship. Active across the UK, Spain, Netherlands and Italy, BbN engages over 100 stakeholders, including city officials, developers and architects. It has committed €5.75 million to scaling innovative solutions and aims to increase the market share of massed timber and biobased materials to 50%, mitigating a quarter of construction emissions.
  • The Moving Force in Business Award recognizes sustainable business solutions that have the potential to transform whole sectors, industries or markets. This year's winner, HYBRIT(Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology), aims to develop the first value-chain for fossil-free steel. The ambitious collaboration between SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall plans to transition from its successful pilot phase to industrial scale production in around 2028. The initiative aims to cut Sweden's carbon dioxide emissions by at least 10% and serves as a model for global replication.
  • The Catalytic Philanthropic-Public-Private Partnership Award honours scalable, innovative collaborations that are leveraging the contributions of philanthropy, government and private sector stakeholders. This year's winner, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet(GEAPP), has united partners across sectors to develop and scale renewable energy solutions in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 2021, GEAPP has built an alliance of over 50 partners, mobilized $1.07 billion to fund 130 projects in 40 countries, averting an estimated 147,000 tons of carbon emissions and supporting the livelihoods of over 2 million people within its first two years.
  • The Intergenerational Climate and Nature Champion Award recognizes leaders inspiring systemic impact in support of climate and nature goals. This year's winner, the Youth Climate Justice Fund(YCJF), accelerates youth-led climate action by funding grassroots initiatives, and collaborates with funders to explore effective ways to back young leaders addressing the climate crisis. To date, YCJF has committed funding to 90 initiatives and plans to scale its impact to over 150 initiatives by 2026.

By joining the GAEA Awards community, the awardees will gain access to a global network, helping raise their profile and mobilize new partnerships. Over the next year, the Forum, alongside a cross-sector community of experts, will provide the winners with tailored support, empowering them to scale their solutions to the nature and climate crises.

The awards were assigned by a jury of independent experts, including:

  • André Hoffmann - Chairman, Massellaz
  • Andrew Steer - President and CEO, Bezos Earth Fund
  • Fatou Jeng - Youth Climate Advisor, United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG)
  • Jennifer Morris - CEO, The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
  • Johan Rockström - Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
  • Maria Mendiluce - CEO, We Mean Business Coalition
  • Maximilian Martin - Global Head of Philanthropy, Bank Lombard Odier
  • Megan Scarsella - Executive Director, Eleven Eleven Foundation
  • Rania Al-Mashat - Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Egypt
  • Seok Hui Lim - CEO, Philanthropy Asia Alliance
  • Sumant Sinha - Chairman and CEO, ReNew

"The GAEA Awards entrusted prominent figures in climate, nature and sustainability with selecting the awardees," said André Hoffmann, Chairman of Massellaz and Jury Chair. "These five partnerships stood out for their potential to drive system-wide transformation by mobilizing multi-sector collaborators and integrating equity, inclusion and just transition principles into all their activities and objectives."

"We have been inspired by these pioneering leaders who are making a transformative impact in the climate and nature space," said Michelle Yeoh, Actress and United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, and GAEA Global Co-Chair. "As co-chairs, we are excited to be part of a community that will continue to inspire positive action to achieve global climate and nature goals."

"By demonstrating what's possible when organizations think beyond traditional boundaries, the GAEA awardees will inspire and mobilize others to follow their lead and work together towards a sustainable future," said Beth Bovis, Senior Partner and Global Head of Sustainability at Kearney.

About the Annual Meeting 2025

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025, taking place in Davos-Klosters from 20 to 24 January, convenes global leaders under the theme, Collaboration for the Intelligent Age. The meeting will foster new partnerships and insights to shape a more sustainable, inclusive future in an era of rapidly advancing technology, focusing on five key areas: reimagining growth, industries in the intelligent age, investing in people, safeguarding the planet, and rebuilding trust. Click here to learn more.

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