In a ceremony in Vienna at the most important environmental award, the world winners for sustainability were chosen in the 5 categories, Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Youth. For over 20 years, the Energy Globes have been awarded annually. In total, over 30,000 sustainable projects have been submitted, proposing innovative solutions to environmental problems. To achieve this, the unique portal providing advice on energy efficiency was introduced.
This was confirmed by high-ranking experts in a panel discussion before the ceremony commenced, among them was Nobel Laureate Prof. Mohan Munasinghe: “There is no shortage of solutions to our current crises, as the many projects entered for the Energy Globe have demonstrated impressively. It is important to inform people and economic players worldwide of these solutions, and to motivate them to join in their implementation.”
What were the stand out projects?
Earth
In the category “Earth”, projects from Ethiopia, Czech Republic and India were nominated, showing how vast areas of land can be made fertile again through reforestation, or replacing plastic-fillers with biological waste and fungi. The winner came from India, where a bio-enzyme halted the burning of millions of hectares of stubblefields and increased soil fertility.
Fire
The winning project in the “Fire” category came from Rwanda, where green electricity is being made affordable for everyone. The nominated projects from Portugal and Switzerland presented green electricity using sea wave power, and an energy saving of 90% for data storage in data centres, respectively. A project from Brazil, which keeps 17 billion litres of drinking water clean annually through the recycling of oil bottles, won the “Water” category.
Runners-up from Slovenia and Jordan showed how washing machines filters stop microplastic fibres from getting into wastewater, and how wastewater may be purified in remote areas.
Air
In the “Air” category, the winning project from China recycles CO2, thus manufacturing new fuels. Projects from Austria and Canada suggested ways of producing hydrogen and saving energy in air-condition systems while simultaneously improving air quality.
Youth
Winner in the ”Youth” category was a project from Australia, which is helping to educate young people in environmental matters in 129 countries worldwide. At the end, a special prize for climate-friendly cooking, which affects billions of people, was awarded.
