Alannah Acaq Hurley

Rule Changes

2026 Goldman Prize winner (North America)

In 37 years of awarding the Goldman Environmental Prize — often called the 'Green Nobel' — the six annual winners have never all been women. The 2026 cohort breaks that pattern with unusually concrete results. A United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled that fossil fuel permits must now include climate impact assessments. South Korea's Constitutional Court ordered the government to strengthen emissions targets. The Environmental Protection Agency blocked North America's largest proposed open-pit mine. Rio Tinto, pushed by a human rights complaint, began addressing environmental damage from a copper mine that helped trigger a civil war.

Updated May 31