While scientists raise increasingly desperate alarms about the fate of the planet due to the climate crisis, and innovators multiply solutions, revolutionary ideas that could save the Earth remain trapped in a limbo of invisibility. Too technical for the spotlight, too urgent to ignore.
This is where Ecosia’s proposal comes in: a Nobel Prize entirely dedicated to the climate. A recognition that turns careers into legends, discoveries into global movements.
And this time, the idea does not come from governments or international lobbies, but from the search engine that has made trees its business model. And who decided to put one million euros on the table.
View this post on Instagram
A million euros worth a revolution
Ecosia has deposited one million euros with a notary in Berlin, intended exclusively to finance the “Climate Nobel Prize”. Together with the money, a direct letter was sent to the Nobel Foundation to begin a collaboration.
The goal? Filling a void that is no longer acceptable. The Nobel Prize celebrates excellence in six categories: physics, chemistry, peace, literature, economics, medicine. But there is a lack of recognition for those who protect the system that makes everything else possible: the climate.
The intention is to amplify the Nobel tradition, bringing it back to Alfred Nobel’s original vision: to reward what brings “the greatest benefit to humanity”.
A stage for those who are changing the rules of the game
The Climate Nobel Prize imagined by Ecosia aims to provide recognition capable of honoring individuals, collectives or companies that have made significant progress in climate innovation, mitigation, regulation, activism.
Christian Kroll, CEO of Ecosia, put it bluntly: “How we adapt to the climate crisis will define humanity.”
Kroll believes that the prestige of the Nobel Committee and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences can make a difference: illuminating innovations and inspiring a new generation of climate leaders.
Ecosia’s million euros is just the beginning: seed capital, ready to be unlocked as soon as the Nobel Foundation gives the green light. The company said it was willing to finance a long-term foundation or involve other organizations committed to climate justice. The important thing is that climate solutions get a stable place in the Nobel family.
And there’s another crucial detail: Ecosia doesn’t want to have a say in nominations or winners.
Luisa Neubauer, climate activist, strongly supported the campaign: “A prize for the climate and the health of the planet would encourage people around the world to develop solutions, improve policies, mobilize communities. It’s time for the Nobel tradition to recognize the greatest crisis of our time.”
Andreas Huber of the German Club of Rome echoed the concept: Nobel’s original idea was to honor those who bring the greatest benefit to humanity. And today, those who protect the foundations of our existence deserve exactly that recognition.
Even indigenous leaders such as Álvaro Tukano, from Brazil, have made their voices heard: the most prestigious awards in the world must finally recognize “the most dramatic problem facing the Planet”.
