Winners Will Be Celebrated at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, in November

Starting today, organizations, cities, industries, governments and other key players that are taking the lead on tackling climate change can nominate their game-changing projects for a United Nations award.

The United Nations Climate Change secretariat opened the call for applications for the 2017 Momentum for Change Awards today to showcase action and ambition as national governments work toward implementing the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Selected initiatives, called ‘Lighthouse Activities,’ shine a light on innovative, scalable and replicable examples of what people are doing to address climate change, in the hope of inspiring others to act. The winning activities will be recognized and celebrated during a series of special events in November at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany (COP 23).


“Right now, there is an unprecedented amount of climate action happening around the world. We want to shine a light on the best of the best – showcasing the kind of climate solutions that will gather even more speed over 2017 and the years and decades to come,” said Nick Nuttall, UNFCCC Spokesperson. “Ensuring a better, more prosperous and stable future for us all requires that the aims of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved. Doing this requires national climate action by all countries across public and private sectors. We strongly encourage those moving climate action forward to apply for the 2017 Momentum for Change Awards – to help inspire and push similar action further and faster.”

The 2017 Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activities will recognize climate action that is already achieving real results in five categories:

  1. Women for Results: recognizing the critical leadership and participation of women in addressing climate change, implemented in collaboration with Masdar’s WiSER initiative.
  2. Financing for Climate Friendly Investment: recognizing successful financial innovations for adaptation and climate mitigation, implemented in partnership with the World Economic Forum Global Project on Climate Change.
  3. ICT Solutions: recognizing successful climate change activities in the field of information and communications technology. This focus area is implemented in partnership with the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.
  4. Planetary Health: recognizing novel solutions that balance the need for both human health and a healthy planet, implemented with support by The Rockefeller Foundation.
  5. Climate Neutral Now: recognizing efforts by individuals, companies and governments that are achieving real results in transitioning to climate neutrality, implemented with the secretariat’s Climate Neutral Now initiative. 

The Momentum for Change Advisory Panel, made up of senior experts from various fields and countries, will select the 2017 Lighthouse Activities. The panel is part of the secretariat’s Momentum for Change initiative, which is supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and operates in partnership with Masdar’s Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) initiative, the World Economic Forum Global Project on Climate Change and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.

Applications for the 2017 Momentum for Change Awards are being accepted from 30 January until 9 April 2017 at: http://momentum.unfccc.int/    

For more information, please contact:
Nick Nuttall, UNFCCC Spokesperson
nnuttall@unfccc.int | + 49 228 815 1400, mobile +49 152 0168 4831

Sarah Marchildon, UNFCCC Communications Officer
smarchildon@unfccc.int | +49 228 815 1065

Digital assets:
High-resolution images, social media posts and webcards are available for download at: http://bit.ly/mfc-2017