2019 Mary Robinson Climate Justice Award from across the World

Deadline: 19 July 2019

The One Young World is seeking nominations for its Mary Robinson Climate Justice Award 2019 to support projects that focus on climate justice.

Climate justice links human rights and development to achieve a human-centered approach, safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable and sharing the burdens and benefits of climate change and its resolution equitably and fairly. Climate justice is informed by science, responds to science and acknowledges the need for equitable stewardship of the world’s resources.

The impact of climate change is not a distant threat, its effects are being felt right now by millions around the world in the form of rising sea levels, extreme weather systems and devastating droughts. The sorry truth is that those most affected by climate change are those who are least responsible for its causes and least well equipped to withstand its effects. A person living in the US creates 118 times more carbon dioxide emissions than a person living in Nauru but this small Pacific island is one of the nations at risk of disappearing due to rising sea levels.

If applicants are leading a climate justice project within applicants community or organisation applicants can apply for the Mary Robinson Climate Justice Award today for the chance to win:

A £5,000 grant to support or launch applicants project.
A fully sponsored delegate place to attend the One Young World Summit 2019 in London, UK.

Eligibility Criteria

Most delegates are between the age of 18 and 30. The One Young World team will consider applications from those who are older than 30, pending demonstration of appropriate personal impact, initiative, and willingness to engage. They are not able to accept applications from those who will be aged under 18 at the time of the Summit.
Applicants project should advance the following criteria:
- Directly addresses sustainable development and/or climate change with a particular emphasis on balancing the needs of present and future generations – this could be through financing, frontline services, advocacy, education, communication, legal/policy change or a business solution. Some indicative suggestions are:
  - A climate or development initiative that addresses poverty reduction and has included ways to measure the benefits and impacts of the initiative for both present and future generations
  - An initiative that sets out to raise awareness on the need to address the current challenges of poverty reduction while ensuring future generations enjoy the same natural and cultural resources as they do today
  - A project that sets out to conserve or sustainably manage natural and cultural heritage for use by current generations but also with a specific objective of preserving these for future generations
  - A project or action at local, national or international level that sets out to advocate or promote the representation of future generations or act as guardians for future generations.
- Projects should be clearly associated with one or more of the seven principles of climate justice:
  - Respect and protect human rights
  - Support the right to development
  - Share benefits and burdens equitably
  - Ensure that decisions on climate change are participatory, transparent and accountable
  - Highlight gender equality and equity
  - Harness the transformative power of education for climate stewardship
  - Use effective partnerships to secure climate justice
- Additional assessment criteria that will be applied in awarding the Prize are:
  - Ambition of the project – how impactful applicants project is in balancing needs of present and future generations
  - Relevance – the project is grounded in climate justice
  - Community value – the project applies to a community/communities/stakeholder group who are directly impacted by climate change or will be more adversely impacted in the future