2021 Blue Planet Prize Announcement of Prize Winners

This year marks the 30th awarding of the Blue Planet Prize, the international environmental award sponsored by the Asahi Glass Foundation, chaired by Takuya Shimamura.

Every year, the Foundation selects two winners, individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to the resolution of global environmental problems. The Board of Directors have selected the following 2021 Blue Planet Prize recipients: Prof. Mohan Munasinghe (Sri Lanka) and Prof. Veerabhadran Ramanathan (USA).

Prof. Mohan Munasinghe is the Founder Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND).

He pioneered the integrative, trans-disciplinary ‘Sustainomics’ framework which views development issues from environmental, social, and economic perspectives. Innovative concepts like ‘balanced inclusive green growth (BIGG)’ and ‘millennium consumption goals (MCGs)’ emerged from Sustainomics.

BIGG calls for each country to take a sustainable development path in accordance with its development stage, while the MCGs ask the affluent, who consume most global output, to adopt consumption goals to reduce the burden on the planet.

He has been developing practical activities using environmental economics and policy to implement these concepts worldwide.

“I am deeply grateful and honoured to receive the 2021 Blue Planet Prize, the premier global environmental sustainability award, symbolizing the outstanding commitment of the Asahi Glass Foundation of Japan, to a better future. I am indebted also to many who have contributed generously to my intellectual development and emotional intelligence, including teachers, mentors, colleagues, family and friends”, Prof. Munasinghe said in a statement.

“Social ties have been invaluable to survive the pressures of COVID-19. It is encouraging to learn that the award committee has specifically acknowledged several key concepts I developed and their practical application worldwide, during almost five decades, including the Sustainomics framework, sustainable development triangle (economy, environment, society), balanced inclusive green growth (BIGG), and Millennium Consumption Goals (MCGs)”, he said.

“My research interests have evolved, from basic disciplines like engineering, physics and economics, to application sectors like energy, water, transport, ICT, and environmental resources, and finally to multidisciplinary topics like poverty, disasters, climate change and sustainable development. This eclectic experience helped me develop Sustainomics, as an integrative, trans-disciplinary methodology”, he noted.

“Drawing on my past work and the global platform provided by the prestigious Blue Planet Prize, I will continue my modest efforts to make our planet more sustainable for all”, Prof. Munasinghe stressed.