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The Frontiers Planet Prize names its 25 National Champions for 2026 – scientists presenting scalable, evidence-based solutions to the planetary crisis.
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25 National Champions provided insights for new report launched today with United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, which identifies practical policy solutions to addressing the planetary polycrisis, spanning climate change, water systems, biodiversity loss, and economic governance.
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Following an independent scientific assessment by 100 experts, chaired by Professor Johan Rockström, the developer of the Planetary Boundaries framework, the prize accelerates global scientific solutions most urgently needed to safeguard planetary health.
The Frontiers Planet Prize has today announced 25 National Champions from leading research institutions across six continents – exceptional scientists whose research advances our understanding of our Earth system, while offering practical, scalable solutions to help keep humanity safely within the planetary boundaries.
As the world’s largest global science competition focused on planetary health, the Prize awards three scientists $1 million each per year and fast-tracks transformative research with the power to shape real-world outcomes. The Frontiers Policy Labs report From Science to Policy: Planetary Solutions in Action – published today to coincide with the National Champions announcements – highlights the urgent need for national and multilateral policies to incorporate these pioneering scientific solutions and questions why this is not happening.
Created in partnership with United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the report highlights that across sectors, from emissions to water and ecosystems, the evidence points to a widening gap between what science can now make possible and the policies being pursued by decision makers.
The National Champions were selected by the Jury of 100, an independent group of leading sustainability and planetary health experts chaired by Professor Johan Rockström, architect of the planetary boundaries framework. The Champions now move forward to the final stage of the competition, where three of them will be selected as International Champions later this year and awarded $1 million each to scale up their research globally.
Led by Professor Johan Rockström, the planetary boundaries framework defines nine Earth system limits within which humanity can thrive. Crossing them increases the risk of abrupt or irreversible environmental change. As multiple boundaries are now under extreme pressure, accelerating science-based consensus and implementation is critical.
Professor Johan Rockström, said:
“The twenty-five national winners of the 2026 Frontiers Planet Prize exemplify the diversity of research that is so urgently needed. Spanning a range of topics, disciplines, and methodological approaches, they share a defining quality: excellence in advancing our understanding of the Earth system and unlocking new frontiers in the solution space.”
Entering its fifth edition, the Frontiers Planet Prize 2026 marks a step change in both scale and relevance to the current climate risk. This year’s cohort includes National Champions from 25 countries, with new representation from Peru, Colombia, Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, and stronger participation from Latin America and Africa - regions that are now central to the world’s environmental, economic, and resource decisions.
Published in leading journals including Science, Nature, PNAS and The Lancet Planetary Health, this year’s research combines scientific authority with real world applicability when policymakers are under increasing pressure to act.
Tshilidzi Marwala, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of United Nations University, said:
“From Science to Policy: Planetary Solutions in Action highlights the urgent need to translate scientific insight into actionable policy solutions at the scale today’s challenges demand. From pollution to climate change, pressures on people and planet are intensifying – requiring stronger links between science and decision-making. We are proud to partner with the Frontiers Policy Labs and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research to advance this effort.”
The National Champions address some of the most urgent challenges facing stakeholders today – areas where the policy report shows current approaches are often built on incomplete data, or outdated assumptions. This includes climate informed carbon capture and climate optimized aviation to community led lithium governance, high seas ocean protection, continent scale water modelling, methane accounting reform, low emissions agriculture, multi-year drought risk, and plastics designed to avoid long term pollution. Together, these National Champions illustrate the shift from diagnosing planetary crises to delivering actionable solutions that policymakers, industry leaders and communities can deploy now.
Professor Jean Claude Burgelman, Director of the Frontiers Planet Prize, said:
“We are no longer short of warnings, we are short of solutions and time. The science that exists to address the planetary crisis does not reach the right decisionmakers quickly and at scale. By identifying and supporting the most robust, relevant, and scalable research worldwide, the Frontiers Planet Prize helps turn truly transformative science into collective action for healthy lives on a healthy planet. In doing so, we hope to inspire the scientists around the world to step up the search for solutions. We really have no time to waste.”
The full list of the 2026 National Champions, categorised by their solutions, is as follows:
The future of water security
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Belgium: Professor Dr Ann van Griensven, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Combined impacts of climate and land-use change on future water resources in Africa
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China: Hong Wang, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Anthropogenic climate change has influenced global river flow seasonality
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Peru: Dr Joan Sanchez-Matos, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), AWARE characterization factors in Peru encompassing El Niño and climate change events: does increased water availability guarantee less water scarcity?
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Switzerland: Dr Liangzhi Chen, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Global increase in the occurrence and impact of multiyear droughts
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United States: Professor Amir AghaKouchak, University of California, Irvine; Global assessment and hotspots of lake drought
Emissions: Insights and solutions
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Canada: Professor Ahmed Abdulla, Carleton University, Integrating climate and physical constraints into assessments of net capture from direct air capture facilities
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Hungary: Dr Csaba Tölgyesi, University of Szeged, Limited carbon sequestration potential from global ecosystem restoration
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Norway: Dr Gunnar Myhre, CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Observed trend in Earth energy imbalance may provide a constraint for low climate sensitivity models
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Singapore: Dr Xunchang Fei, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Methane emissions from landfills differentially underestimated worldwide
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Spain: Professor Manuel Soler Arnedo, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Climate-optimized flight planning can effectively reduce the environmental footprint of aviation in Europe at low operational costs
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United Arab Emirates: Dr Steve Griffiths, American University of Sharjah (AUS), Chemistry advances driving industrial carbon capture technologies
Building resilient ecosystems
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Australia: Dr Ana Sequeira, The Australian National University (ANU), Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets
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Brazil: Dr Letícia Garcia, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Mapping Resilient Landscapes to Climate Change in a Megadiverse Country
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Colombia: Dr Olga Mayorga, Tibaitatá Research Center, Colombian Corporation of Agricultural Research (ARGOSAVIA), The contribution of local shrubs to the carbon footprint reduction of traditional dairy systems in Cundinamarca, Colombia
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Germany: Dr Gustavo Brant Paterno, University of Göttingen, Diverse and larger tree islands promote native tree diversity in oil palm landscapes
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New Zealand: Daniel Hernández-Carrasco, University of Canterbury, Ecological and evolutionary consequences of changing seasonality
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Poland: Professor Michał Bogdziewicz, Adam Mickiewicz University, Growth decline in European beech associated with temperature-driven increase in reproductive allocation
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Senegal: Dr Adama Lo, Centre de Suivi Écologique (CSE), Remote Sensing-Based Assessment of Dry-Season Forage Quality for Improved Rangeland Management in Sahelian Ecosystems
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United Kingdom: Professor Helen Findlay, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Ocean Acidification: Another Planetary Boundary Crossed
Innovation and systemic change
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Argentina: Dr Andrea E. Izquierdo, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET-National University of Córdoba, Integrating local and Indigenous knowledge with sustainable development goals in lithium mining impact assessment for a fair energy transition
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Austria: Dr Nicolas Roux, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Integrating sufficiency in the trade and biodiversity agenda of the European Union
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Finland: Dr Daniel Fernández Galeote, Tampere University, Play, games, and gamification to support sustainability transitions: a scoping review and research agenda
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Israel: Dr Alon Shepon, Tel Aviv University, The environmental and social opportunities of reducing sugar intake
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Japan: Professor Takuzo Aida, The University of Tokyo, Mechanically strong yet metabolizable supramolecular plastics by desalting upon phase separation
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The Netherlands: Dr Rutger Hoekstra, Leiden University, Beyond GDP: a review and conceptual framework for measuring sustainable and inclusive wellbeing
As National Champions, each researcher will have the opportunity to share their award-winning research through national and international conferences to facilitate the systemic change needed to safeguard our planet's health. This is made possible through the support of the Prize's strategic partners, including the Potsdam Institute of Climate Research Impact, the International Science Council, The African Academy of Sciences, and the Villars Institute.
The Frontiers Planet Prize Award Ceremony will take place on 18 January 2027, in Davos. Hosted by the Frontiers Science House, this landmark event will bring together thought leaders from policy, practice, and philanthropy. It will place transformative science at the center of the conversation, spotlighting innovations and solutions in which advances in planetary boundary science help inform the decisions that define our future.