The Goldman Environmental Prize Winners 2024

The 2024 winners of The Goldman Environmental Prize pose for a photo at this year's awards ceremony.The Goldman Environmental Prize, with permission

The winners of the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize have been announced, celebrating six grassroots climate activists from across the globe.

About The Goldman Environmental Prize:

The Goldman Environmental Prize was founded in 1989 by Richard and Rhoda Goldman, as they wanted to reward activists and inspire others to join the fight for climate justice. The prize, “honors the achievements and leadership of grassroots environmental activists from around the world, inspiring all of us to take action to protect our planet.” By “grassroots,” they mean, “those involved in local efforts, where positive change is created through community or citizen participation.”[1]

The winners are announced at an annual live award ceremony, which coincides with Earth Day. Due to restrictions because of the pandemic in recent years, the award ceremony has been hosted virtually. However, under normal circumstances, the ceremony is held at the San Francisco Opera House in California. There is also a smaller, more intimate ceremony for the winners only, which is held in Washington D.C. At the winner’s ceremony, they are presented with a bronze sculpture of an Ouroboros, a serpent biting its tail; in many cultures, the ouroboros is a symbol of nature’s power of renewal.

To date, The Goldman Environmental Prize have honored 226 environmental activists, from 95 different countries. To see the previous winners of the award, click here. 

The 2024 Winners:  

The six winners of 2024 are Marcel Gomes of Brazil, Murrawah Maroochy Johnson of Australia, Alok Shukla of India, Teresa Vicente of Spain, Andrea Vidaurre of the United States, and Sinegugu Zukulu & Nonghle Mbuthuma of South Africa. All six of the winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize this year are inspirational leaders and activists that are helping to protect the environment, one part at a time. They are proof of the significant differences that can be made when people band together and fight for a better world.

Marcel Gomes, Brazil 

Marcel Gomes led a campaign which connected products from JBS, the world's leading meatpacking company, to widespread deforestation in Brazil. Gomes' work resulted in six of Europe's supermarket chains halting sales of JBS' products in 2021.

Murrawah Maroochy Johnson, Australia

Murrawah Maroochy Johnson stopped the development of a huge coal mine in Australia which, if allowed to be developed, would have destroyed the entire 20,000 acres of the Bimblebox Nature Refuge, emitted 1.58 billion tons of carbon dioxide, increased the rate of climate change in Queensland and threatened the rights of Indigenous populations. 

Alok Shukla, India

Alok Shukla led a community campaign which saw the cancellation of the development twenty one coal mines in Chhattisgarh, India. In doing so, Shukla saved 445,000 acres of forests. 

Teresa Vicente, Spain

Teresa Vicente's grassroots campaign saved the largest seawater lagoon in Europe, the Mar Menor, from collapse. Thanks to Vincente, a law was passed in 2022, giving the lagoon unique legal rights and protecting it from harm in the future. 

Andrea Vidaurre, United States

Andrea Vidaurre persuaded the California Air Resources Board to implement a historic regulation in order to limit emissions from rail lines. The hope is that more and more states will adopt the regulations.

Sinegugu Zukulu & Nonghle Mbuthuma, South Africa

Sinegugu Zukulu & Nonghle Mbuthuma stopped harmful testing for oil and gas in the Wild Coast, an area in South Africa's Eastern Cape. 

To read more about each of the winners’ incredible work, click here.

To watch the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize Awards Ceremony, click here.

MY HERO Media Award 2021

In 2021, The MY HERO Project announced that the Goldman Environmental Prize was to be awarded the 2021 MY HERO Media Award at the 17th Annual International Film Festival. The Media award is given to groups or individuals who use media to create positive change in the world, which the Goldman Environmental Prize is doing on a significant scale. 

To read more about the MY HERO Media Award in 2021, click here.

[1] Overview of the Prize. [Online] Available https://www.goldmanprize.org/overview-of-the-prize/.2024.