The 2023 Paulson Prize for Sustainability launch event is held in Beijing on April 18, 2023. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn]

The 2023 Paulson Prize for Sustainability was launched in Beijing on Tuesday. 

The prize was initiated in 2013 by the Paulson Institute and has been developed in partnership with Tsinghua University. It rewards projects in China that provide innovative and scalable solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss, so as to inspire new thinking for global sustainability. 

Deborah Lehr, vice chairman and executive director of the Paulson Institute, noted via video link that smarter investments, better business models, breathtaking technologies, and a transformation in cultural awareness are needed to solve the dual threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. So far, applications for the prize have responded to a wide scope of areas ranging from decarbonization initiatives, waste recycling and reuse, and ecological restoration, Lehr added.

Yang Bin, vice president of Tsinghua University, pointed out that no country is immune to the menace of climate change and biodiversity loss, thus making cooperation and experience sharing among countries in this regard essential. Yang underscored that Tsinghua University will continue to work with the Paulson Institute to enhance the global influence of the prize, as part of China's contribution to global sustainable development.

Siddharth Chatterjee, the U.N. resident coordinator in China, stressed via video link the need for potential gamechangers who can put human beings on a path to stable climate and pro-nature economy, and improve water, food, energy, social and ecological security.

The Paulson Prize for Sustainability is awarded in two categories of "green innovation" and "nature stewardship," which recognize projects on built environment and nature conservation, respectively. The evaluation criteria include environmental impact, creativity, scalability, financing mechanism and social benefits. 

During the event, details on the green innovation project of "city waste battery recycling and reuse" as well as the nature stewardship project of "innovative model of urban development and wetland conservation" — two previous winners of the prize — were shared as a way to exchange experiences. 

Guests discuss green development and biodiversity protection at a media roundtable event, April 18, 2023. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn]

During a media roundtable event, specially invited guests shed light on projects' global scalability, energy transformation and financing mechanism for biodiversity protection, as well as enterprises' participation in biodiversity conservation, among others.

Erik Solheim, former executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, concluded that three C's should be achieved for global sustainable development: competition, cooperation and conflict avoidance. Solheim added that competition is not always bad as it can drive technologies and green projects forward. 

Project applications can be submitted at paulsoninstitute.org/prize.

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