The Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) was awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity 2021 for its ability to enhance and support climate leadership and advance a low-carbon economy and society across 11,000 cities worldwide. GCoM is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership. The cities and partners of GCoM share a long-term vision of supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and towards a resilient and low-emission society.
The global alliance for climate and enrgy was selected from among 113 candidates from 48 different countries and will receive €1 million to fund projects aiming to advance sustainable infrastructure and support climate mitigation and adaptation efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in Senegal and Cameroon. The projects were selected for their high degree of climate ambition and contribution to the energy transition and climate resilience.
“The attribution of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity to the Global Covenant of Mayors couldn’t be more opportune and appropriate, given more than half of the world’s population live in urban areas, and cities account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions,” said the Jury of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. “The decisive role of thousands of cities to take meaningful and specific action to combat the climate crisis demonstrates the global reach of this organisation. The Gulbenkian Prize will support GCoM in raising voluntary climate mitigation and adaptation action with a special focus on two projects in Africa.”
The ceremony for the attribution of the Prize for Humanity was held on the 9th of November at the COP26 conference in Glasgow.
The annually awarded Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity aims to recognise people, groups of people and organisations from all over the world whose contributions to mitigation and adaptation to climate change stand out for its novelty, innovation and impact.
Find more information on this year’s laureate here.