Momentum for Change is an initiative spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat to shine a light on the enormous groundswell of activities underway across the globe that are moving the world toward a highly resilient, low-carbon future. Momentum for Change recognizes innovative and transformative solutions that address both climate change and wider economic, social and environmental challenges.

We call these solutions Lighthouse Activities. They're some of the most practical, scalable and replicable examples of what people, businesses, governments and industries are doing to tackle climate change.

Winners of 2017 Momentum for Change Awards Announced

Nineteen ground-breaking initiatives from around the world were announced on 12 October 2017 as recipients of the United Nations Momentum for Change Climate Solutions Award.

The winners underline how Global Climate Action is accelerating, two years after the Paris Agreement was universally adopted and in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Winning activities include a women-led, eco-fashion business that addresses climate change by recycling fabric waste to produce clothing collections, while providing jobs for disadvantaged female workers; a credit card company in South Korea where users are rewarded with points when they act sustainably; and, an easy-to-use ICT tool to help farmers make climate-smart decisions in Colombia and Honduras.

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Winners of 2016 Momentum for Change Awards Announced

Thirteen game-changing initiatives from around the world were announced on 29 September 2016 as winners of the Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity Award. 

Winning activities include a Google-led project that could catalyse the rooftop solar market for millions of people across the United States; an ingenious net that harvests fog from the air to provide drinking water for people on the edge of Morocco’s Sahara Desert; North America’s first revenue-neutral tax that puts a price on carbon pollution; and a project that has established the first women-specific standard to measure and monetize women’s empowerment benefits of climate action.

The Momentum for Change Awards are part of wider efforts to mobilize action and ambition as national governments work toward implementing the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

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The Latest from Momentum for Change

Here's what has been happening lately at Momentum for Change:

• Check out our fully digital 2016 interactive annual report and learn about inspiring stories of the 2016 winning activities.
• Check out our fully digital 2015 interactive annual report showcasing climate solutions.
• Check out our fully digital 2014 interactive annual report and learn about inspiring stories of climate action.
• Check out our 2013 interactive annual report.
• Listen to the Momentum for Change podcast. Subscribe to receive a new episode every second week.

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Momentum for Change: Areas of Focus

Planetary Health: recognizing novel solutions that balance the need for both human health and a healthy planet, implemented with the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation.

Climate Neutral Now: recognizing efforts by individuals, companies and governments that are achieving real results in transitioning to climate neutrality, implemented with the secretariat's Climate Neutral Now initiative.

Women for Results: recognizing the critical leadership and participation of women in addressing climate change. This focus area is implemented with the generous support of Masdar's Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) initiative.

Financing for Climate Friendly Investment: recognizing successful and innovative climate-smart activities. This focus area is implemented in partnership with the World Economic Forum Global Project on Climate Change.

ICT Solutions: recognizing successful climate change activities in the field of information and communication technology. This focus area is implemented in partnership with the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.

Urban Poor: recognizing climate action that improves the lives of impoverished people in urban communities. This focus area was implemented with the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2011-2015.