UN official wins top sustainable development award

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with promoting socially and environmentally sustainable housing is one of three winners of this year’s prestigious Göteborg Award, known as the “Nobel Prize in Environment.”

Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, will share the $125,000 prize with Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of the Colombian capital, Bogotá, and Sören Hermansen of Denmark, who was named a “Hero of the Environment” by Time Magazine last year.

“With over 50 per cent of humanity now living in urban areas, the award highlights the urgent need for sustainable urbanization for the future of the planet,” said Ms. Tibaijuka.

She joins former United States Vice-President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore as a recipient of the Göteborg Award, which is celebrating its tenth year and is funded by the Swedish city and private companies.

The jury panel said that this year’s winners, who will receive their prizes at a ceremony in November, “are ambassadors for one of the most decisive factors for humanity – the battle for sustainable development in the cities and towns around the globe.”