Category: Shortlist
Category: Shortlist
The Challenge: Water pollution in farming and aquaculture
Not only does agriculture account for 70% of freshwater withdrawals worldwide, it also plays a major role in water pollution by releasing large quantities of agrochemicals, sediments and organic matter into bodies of water. Excessive nutrients runoff, predominantly nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer and manure, sparks extreme algae growth, leading to lifeless rivers and dead zones in the oceans. In turn, freshwater and marine ecosystems, and the economic viability of these environments suffer.
Category: Shortlist
The Challenge: To live in harmony with the world beneath
Oceans are often categorized as victims of warming, acidification, pollution, and vanishing species and habitats. Alternatively, they instill fear as rising sea levels threaten lives and livelihoods. Much less attention and even fewer resources have been focused on the ocean’s own formidable potential to address these issues.
Every year, our oceans absorb some 90% of the excess heat caused by greenhouse gas emissions and 30% of the world’s atmospheric carbon dioxide. To continue in this leading role, the ocean needs additional support. This will generate exceptional returns.
Category: Shortlist
The Challenge: Continuous decline of crop diversity for sourcing our food
Since the dawn of agriculture, crop diversity has provided the means to continually adapt to evolving diseases and pests, as well as changes in season, climate, and consumer demands. Diversity is key to ensuring the quality and quantity of our food and the functionality and resilience of our food systems. Evidence shows that without increased diversity, agriculture will not be able to meet the future challenges caused by population growth, increasing wealth and a changing climate.
Category: Shortlist
Nearly 3 billion people rely on open-fire stoves to cook their food. But this way of cooking has consequences for both human health and the environment. Worldwide, cooking over biomass-burning emits one-quarter of black carbon (soot particles) emissions, a major contributor to global warming. This is why clean cooking is vital to combating climate change. Recent evidence demonstrates that the most efficient and low-emission cookstoves and fuels can reduce black carbon emissions by 50-90%.
The Clean Cooking Alliance works to drive consumer demand for cleaner stoves and fuels. They mobilize investment to incentivize scalable business models that can deliver affordable, appropriate, high-quality clean cooking products. The Alliance’s objective is to achieve universal access to clean cooking solutions.