Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy
Honoring World Leaders in Environmental Law and Diplomacy
The Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy is the world’s most prestigious award in the field of environmental law recognizing the innovation, skill, and accomplishments of lawyers, diplomats, international civil servants and other advocates who work to create the world environmental order. The Award has a distinguished history since 1979 shaped by progress in the field of environmental law and policy, and through collaborations with the Universite libre du Bruxelles and the International Council of Environmental Law. Chosen annually by an esteemed jury, the Award honors the late Elisabeth Haub, a noted philanthropist and environmental advocate.
2025 Haub Award
The 2025 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy was jointly awarded to Professor John H. Knox and Dr. David R. Boyd for their pioneering work recognizing the right to a healthy environment. Together, Professor John H. Knox and Dr. David R. Boyd have profoundly shaped the field of international environmental law by laying the foundation for the recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Their work as Special Rapporteurs—Knox from 2012 to 2018 and Boyd from 2018 to 2024—has been instrumental in inspiring legislative, diplomatic, and judicial support for environmental rights around the globe.
2025 Ceremony Video
Watch the 2025 Haub Award ceremony and panel discussion on how scholarship, advocacy, and diplomacy converged at the UN to secure universal recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment—moderated by Prof. Smita Narula, with the laureates and Ambassador Maritza Chan Valverde.
About Elisabeth Haub (1899–1977)
Elisabeth Haub was a tireless environmental advocate and philanthropist with an extraordinary legacy supporting the progress of environmental law, with particular emphasis on activities that impact policy, promote a balanced approach to sustainable growth and reflect the global nature of environmental issues. She devoted much of her life to the stewardship of sustainability, forming the first foundation dedicated to establishing laws for nature conservation and environmental protection. The Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy, as it is known today, was named in her honor.
