Bogotá, November 12, 2024 - The TIME 100 Climate ranking highlights the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development and president of the COP16 on Biodiversity, Susana Muhamad, as one of the 100 most influential leaders in global climate action in the 'Titans' category, alongside other personalities such as Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank; Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft; Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Secretary of Energy and Claudia Sheinbaum, president of Mexico.
TIME notes that the magazine's editors took several months to identify change-makers across all sectors of the economy, valuing achievements over commitments. The list represents people who are making significant progress in influencing the business of climate change.
Colombia's Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, was selected by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people leading climate action in the world in the 'Titans' category.
The magazine also describes that for Minister Muhamad, “reducing emissions is not enough; to prosper, the world must also protect biodiversity and restore nature”/em>.
TIME also highlights some of Muhamad's achievements: “She has helped reduce deforestation by 36% by 2023, thanks in part to economic incentives that encourage farmers to conserve land. Last December, Colombia became the first major fossil fuel-producing country to join calls for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. And this September, his office launched a new investment portfolio that puts the country on the path to phasing out fossil fuels and hopes to attract some $40 billion in investment by prioritizing initiatives such as ecotourism and clean energy”.
The TIME 100 Climate 2024 list, in this edition highlights the importance of finance in climate action, ranking also Ajay Banga, Bill Gates, Prince Harry and Claudia Sheinbaum.
For his part, Muhamad told TIME that: “Currently, the ecological restoration of our ecosystems does not receive sufficient attention or funding, but it is a key climate solution to create more resilient territories against the impacts of climate change and that can contribute to its mitigation and adaptation. Restoration should be done hand in hand with local communities, so that they see in this process of recovery of nature an opportunity for social and economic development, strengthening their governance, capacities, and resources”.
Who is Susana Muhamad?
Susana Muhamad González, president of COP16 - the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity - is a Colombian politician, environmentalist and political scientist of Palestinian descent, belonging to the Colombia Humana party. As of August 7, 2022, she will serve as Colombia's Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development.
TIME recognizes actions such as the 36% reduction in deforestation in Colombia by 2023, the country's accession to the Fossil Fuels Non-Proliferation Treaty, among others.
Muhamad is a nationally, regionally and internationally recognized environmentalist. Her work focuses on developing actions to consolidate Colombia as a world power of life, complying with international agreements on climate change and biodiversity loss, working for the protection of environmental defenders and combating deforestation in the Amazon Arc.
Her leadership in defense of the environment has also been recognized as Woman of the Decade in Colombia by the Women Economic Forum, the first Colombian awarded in Global Leadership by the Vital Voices Global Partnership and one of the 25 women leaders in the world in the fight against climate change.
Consult the ranking here.