Blue Planet Prize Current Year Laureates

Born on September 26, 1961
Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University

Professor Robert B. Jackson is an expert on the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems, including forests, grasslands, and wetlands. He has conducted pioneering research on the relationship between soil, vegetation, and soil bacterial communities. In addition, he has quantified the balance of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, from natural ecosystems and from fossil fuel use. Since 2017, he has served as chair of the Global Carbon Project (GCP), leading efforts to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Statement from Professor Robert B. Jackson upon Notification of Selection

One of master poet Matsuo Bashō's many haiku can be translated as:
No one travels
Along this way but I,
This autumn evening.

Unlike poets, no scientist travels alone. I thank my family, friends, lab members, and colleagues in the Global Carbon Project who've supported me while working to make the world a better place. I thank GCP executive director, Josep Canadell, who I met long ago in the Stanford lab of Hal Mooney, a Blue Planet winner in 2002. And, of course, I thank the Asahi Glass Foundation for sustaining work in the environment

It's easy to forget how much healthier we are because of past environmental champions. We in the United States have seen lead levels drop by 96% in the blood of our children after phasing out leaded gasoline. The U.S. Clean Air Act saves hundreds of thousands of lives a year at a 30-fold return on investment. International cooperation forged the Montreal Protocol that protects the world's ozone shield and all life on earth. Like freedom and equality, though, environmental progress and a safe climate are at risk. The Blue Planet Prize is my reminder, and I am grateful for it.

Born on March 16, 1954
Founder and CEO of Highlands Rewilding Ltd.
Inaugural chairman of the Carbon Tracker Initiative

Dr. Jeremy Leggett, as the inaugural chairman of the Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI), introduced the concept of the "carbon bubble," highlighting the economic risks associated with fossil fuel assets. Through CTI's activities, he influenced investors and policymakers, advancing the divestment movement. In addition, as a practical effort to balance economic activity with environmental conservation, he founded one of the UK's leading solar energy companies. More recently, he has been spearheading initiatives in Scotland to connect ecological restoration with community prosperity.

Statement from Dr. Jeremy Leggett upon Notification of Selection

I am delighted and humbled by this honour, the more so because of my long association with Japan. As an academic earth scientist in the 1980s I worked closely with researchers in Japanese universities and industry.

As a climate campaigner in the 1990s I worked with Japanese and other international colleagues towards the success we all eventually enjoyed at the Kyoto climate summit in 1997. As a solar entrepreneur thereafter I learned much in the early years of the solar revolution from Japanese, American and German pioneers. I am deeply grateful to all these colleagues, and the teams and alumni at Solarcentury, SolarAid, Carbon Tracker and Highlands Rewilding. Also to my wife, Aki, a Japanese former climate analyst and UN official. I could not have won this award without them, and the deep honour of it is as much theirs as mine.

I resolve to use the platform the award provides to accelerate efforts to help craft a liveable future.