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 Award Ceremony
The 2025 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy will be jointly awarded to Professor John H. Knox and Dr. David R. Boyd on October 23, 2025.
Professor John H. Knox and Dr. David R. Boyd will be honored for their groundbreaking efforts as successive United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the human right to a healthy environment. Together, Professors Knox and 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 has been instrumental in inspiring legislative, diplomatic, and judicial support for environmental rights around the globe.
2024 Ceremony Video
Watch the 2024 Haub Award ceremony and panel discussion on Safeguarding Biodiversity in the High Seas with the laureates, Ambassador Rena Lee and Prof. Kristina Maria Gjerde, along with Dr. David Freestone, Executive Director of the Sargasso Sea Commission and Visiting Scholar at the George Washington University Law School, and moderated by Professor Smita Narula, Haub Distinguished Professor of International Law and Co-Director of the Global Center for Environmental Legal Studies, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
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.
