Applications open

2021 Ashden Awards tackle global climate challenges

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Posted By:

Craig Burnett

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A man and woman work machinery by a pile of bricks

UPDATE:

Applications for the 2021 awards are now closed and we are no longer accepting applications. International longlisted organisations have been announced here.

You can register your interest for the 2022 Ashden Awards now.

 

Entries for the 2021 Ashden Awards have opened – with international categories promoting innovation in energy access, natural climate solutions and sustainable cooling for low-income neighbourhoods. The prestigious annual awards highlight outstanding climate innovations, boosting bright ideas that can be scaled up or replicated around the world.

CEO Harriet Lamb: “This year we are awarding solutions taking on the biggest international climate challenges – from defending our rainforests to helping people survive deadly heatwaves. This includes the ongoing battle to connect everyone with clean and affordable energy, including the world’s 80 million refugees and displaced people.

“Our awards will focus on innovation supporting those marginalised or at risk of being left behind – from indigenous peoples to families living without electricity.”

“Coronavirus has put the progress of many climate pioneers in danger – but they have responded by  digging deep to help their communities at this difficult time. Now more than ever, we must celebrate these innovators and back their work building a cleaner, fairer future for all.”

Award nominations are open now, and close on March 3 or March 17, depending on the award category. Winners will be announced in the autumn. As well as a cash grant of up to £20,000, winning organisations receive development support, networking opportunities, and PR support (including a broadcast-quality film about their work).

Find our more or apply for an Ashden Award

The 2021 international Ashden Awards

Ashden Award for Humanitarian Energy, supported by Linbury Trust, the Alan and Babette Sainsbury Charitable Fund, and The Ashden Humanitarian Energy Appeal

Entries close March 3

Refugees and displaced people face a desperate battle to access clean energy, and the safety and dignity it brings. About 80% of people living in refugee camps are thought to have minimal access to energy for cooking and heating, and about 90% have no access to electricity. Even limited access to energy comes at an enormous cost – in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya, households spend an estimated 24% of their income on energy – compared to a UK household spend of just 4%.

This award will uncover innovation bringing clean, affordable energy to refugees and displaced people around the world. In particular, it will focus on innovative finance and delivery models for bringing clean energy to humanitarian settings. Initiatives should also give displaced people – and host communities – the chance to plan and run clean energy programmes.

Ashden Award for Natural Climate Solutions

Entries close March 3

Forest ecosystems are a vital defence against climate catastrophe. But the communities that call them home are under threat – often lacking rights and economic power, and now vulnerable to coronavirus. When the careful stewardship of forests by indigenous people and their neighbours is threatened, we are all at risk.

The Ashden Award for Natural Climate Solutions will highlight initiatives in the Amazon, Congo Basin and South East Asian rainforest making forest communities more resilient,  through improved livelihoods, inclusive business models or improved governance and land rights. It will also spotlight innovation in grassroots resistance, cultural preservation and support for young leaders.

A woman sorting seeds
Rede de Sementes do Xingu seed collection project won a 2020 Ashden Award for its work supporting livelihoods and protecting the Amazon.

Ashden award for Energy Access Innovation

Entries close March 3

Global efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 – universal energy access by 2030 – hang in the balance. 770 million people still go without access to electricity, and in sub-Saharan Africa the number of people with access to electricity is set to fall in 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated the vital community role that locally led energy access enterprises play, but also the enormous structural challenges they face in accessing finance and support. This award seeks innovation at all levels of the energy access ecosystem that is helping innovators survive, thrive and build resilience in local communities. Innovation could be in the realm of inclusive finance, delivery models, community development and partnerships or broader systemic change. It could be led by enterprises, community organisations, national or regional governments or NGOs.

Ashden Award for Cooling in Informal Settlements, supported by K-CEP/ClimateWorks Foundation

Entries close March 3

Millions of people in low-income neighbourhoods face dangerous heat inside and outside their homes. This brings the risk of mental and physical health problems – and makes it hard or impossible to study, earn a living or even sleep well. In the most extreme cases, night-time temperatures can be up to 8 degrees celsius higher indoors than out. Solutions can be hard to implement – these homes are rarely subject to planning regulations, while conventional air conditioning is too expensive for residents (and further drives the climate crisis).

But affordable non-mechanised cooling solutions exist, such as temperature-lowering roof and wall adaptations, natural ventilation systems, evaporative cooling and the use of plants, trees and structures to provide cooling shade. This award will spotlight the best initiatives alleviating heat stress, and help make solutions accessible and affordable to those in greatest need.

Ashden Award for Energy Access Skills, supported by the Ashden Trust

Entries close March 17

To tackle the climate crisis, we must back the jobs and skills that bring clean energy solutions to life. But the world faces a green skills shortage, particularly in countries where access to clean energy is urgently needed. Currently, just 2% of renewable energy jobs are in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Ashden Award for energy access skills will showcase outstanding initiatives widening access to green skills training, an essential step to a low-carbon planet and universal access to sustainable energy. Projects might include innovative approaches to skills development, or programmes and policies supporting excluded groups such as women or indigenous people. Work should empower local communities, and be created and run with their input.

Ashden Award for Regenerative Agriculture, supported by the DOEN Foundation

Entries close March 17

The growth of regenerative agriculture – sustainable farming that nourishes soil, boosts biodiversity and improves water management – could bring enormous benefits to our climate, and to 500 million smallholder farmers around the world.

These methods protect and build soil carbon stocks, a powerful natural climate solution. They also improve yields and make crops resilient to extreme weather and other challenges, bringing more security to farmers and their families. And they cut the need for expensive and environmentally damaging pesticides and fertilisers.

This award will spotlight areas key to the growth of regenerative agriculture – training and information for farmers, access to finance and technology, support for land rights and fair compensation for prioritising soil health.

Discover the 2021 UK Ashden Awards

Find our more or apply for an Ashden Award

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