Posted on November, 19 2021

Earlier this week, as the annual climate talks wound up in Glasgow, on the other side of the world, recognition was given to leading actors in the environmental movement for their contributions to the preservation of the global environment in a moving ceremony in Kyoto, Japan.
 
Among this year’s three inductees in the Earth Hall of Fame Kyoto, are Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF Global Climate & Energy Lead. He was nominated alongside Kristine Tompkins (former CEO Patagonia Inc) and Tsuchiya Haruki (President of Kyoto Eco Energy Institute).
 
Responding to the award, Pulgar-Vidal said: "This award is an emotional milestone for me. After many decades of working in environmental issues, we are now in a time when we are not really appreciating what we have. The world has aligned around a collective vision, and there is no doubt that we must keep global temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5C,  have to have net-zero and resilient economy by 2050, and halve global emissions by 2030. 
 
This clarity of vision, and your recognition to be part of the Earth Hall of Fame Kyoto, gives me renewed vitality, more energy, and it will encourage me to redouble my efforts to tackle the climate crisis, through action. Friends,of Japan, students, ladies and gentlemen, let’s continue to work together. Let’s make this planet a better place to live. We can’t give up."
 
The Earth Hall of Fame Kyoto was founded in 2010 to commend those who have made great contributions worldwide to preservation of the global environment. Previous inductees include Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (established by the UN, World Meteorological Organization and UN Environment Programme to provide scientific information on climate change to the UN Convention on Climate Change), and Christina Figueres, former executive director of UN Climate Change.
 
Pulgar-Vidal’s citation states, “When he was Minister of the Environment for Peru, as chairman of COP20, he stated that non-state actors should be involved in international negotiations and laid the foundation for the big swell of activities of non-state actors in present climate change countermeasures, and greatly contributed to the subsequent development of international negotiations on environmental conservation.”


For further information, contact Mandy Jean Woods mwoods@wwfint.org