Nigeria’s Nnimmo Bassey Honoured with Lifetime Achievement at 2026 Courageous Scientists Award in Vienna

Nigeria’s Nnimmo Bassey has received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Environmental and Climate Justice at the 2026 Courageous Scientists Award, capping more than three decades of climate-justice advocacy. The Nnimmo Bassey lifetime achievement honour was presented on Tuesday 13 October 2026 at the award gala in Vienna, Austria, where the Nigerian activist was recognised alongside the late Honduran Indigenous leader Berta Cáceres.

Key facts

• Honouree: Dr. h.c. Nnimmo Bassey, Nigeria — climate justice activist, architect, writer and poet; Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)
• Award: Lifetime Achievement Award for Environmental and Climate Justice, 2026 Courageous Scientists Award (2nd edition)
• Presented: 13 October 2026, at the Porgy and Bess Jazz Club in Vienna, by the Forum for Eco-Social Transformations (FEST)
• Honoured alongside: the late Honduran Indigenous leader Berta Cáceres, co-founder of COPINH
• Other 2026 laureates: Seble Samuel (Ethiopia), Ana Laide Soares Barbosa (Brazil), Akino Miyagi (Japan), Dr. Malik Oedin (New Caledonia)

Nnimmo Bassey lifetime achievement: the Vienna ceremony

The gala marked the second edition of the Courageous Scientists Award, initiated by Austrian architectural historian Dr. Norbert Mayr and organised by the Vienna-based non-profit Forum for Eco-Social Transformations (FEST). The award recognises scientist-activists who demonstrate exceptional courage in advocating publicly for environmental and climate justice.

According to The Authority News, Bassey described the recognition as both an honour and a reminder of the collective responsibility to advance environmental justice. He said courageous, ethical and community-centred science was essential to protecting people, ecosystems and the planet, and stressed the need to hold those responsible for environmental destruction accountable. He also called for respect for the rights of communities affected by extractive activities, urging remediation and environmental restoration in damaged areas.

The honour drew congratulations from African environmental organisations. Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), described it as a major victory for grassroots advocacy across Africa and the Global South, while Mariann Bassey-Olsson of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria called it a well-deserved recognition of Bassey’s longstanding commitment.

A career built on climate justice

Bassey, born 11 June 1958, has been a central figure in the international climate justice movement since 1993. He co-founded Oilwatch Africa in 1995, chaired Friends of the Earth International from 2008 to 2012, and led Nigeria’s Environmental Rights Action as Executive Director from 1993 to 2013. He now directs the ecological think-tank HOMEF.

His earlier honours include the 2010 Right Livelihood Award — often called the “Alternative Nobel Prize” — the 2012 Rafto Human Rights Award, Nigeria’s national MFR honour in 2014, honorary doctorates from the University of York (UK, 2019) and York University (Canada, 2023), and the Wallenberg Medal in 2024. He has also authored books on the environment, architecture and poetry.

Honoured alongside Berta Cáceres

The lifetime achievement honour was shared, posthumously, with Berta Cáceres of Honduras — the Lenca Indigenous leader who co-founded the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) in 1993 and received the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015. Cáceres was shot dead in her home in La Esperanza on 2 March 2016 after years of death threats over her opposition to the Agua Zarca dam project.

The award dossier notes that Global Witness describes Honduras as the deadliest country in the world for environmental activism: more than 120 land and environmental defenders were killed there between 2010 and 2016, and at least 70 more since Cáceres’ assassination.

The 2026 laureates

Beyond the two lifetime achievement honours, the 2026 award named four laureates — each receiving a 5,000 euro grant according to reports of the gala:

• Seble Samuel (Ethiopia): climate justice campaigner and Head of Africa Campaigns and Advocacy at the global Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative; co-founder of the urban sustainability organisation Lem Ketema and of Ethiopia’s national plastic-free campaign Ye Zembil Melse.
• Ana Laide Soares Barbosa (Brazil): leading voice of the Movimento Xingu Vivo Para Sempre, the coalition resisting the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon.
• Akino Miyagi (Japan): entomologist and activist documenting and removing US military waste from the Yanbaru Forest, a World Natural Heritage site in Okinawa.
• Dr. Malik Oedin (New Caledonia): biologist and president of the youth-led environmental NGO Gardiens Des Îles, working on biodiversity conservation and nature-based solutions in the Pacific.

The recognition lands weeks before COP31 convenes in Antalya, Türkiye — a timely reminder of the frontline defenders whose work underpins the climate negotiations.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Courageous Scientists Award?

It is an international award recognising scientist-activists who demonstrate exceptional courage in advocating publicly for environmental and climate justice. The 2026 edition, its second, was organised by the Vienna-based Forum for Eco-Social Transformations (FEST) and initiated by Dr. Norbert Mayr.

When and where was the 2026 gala held?

The gala took place on Tuesday 13 October 2026 at the Porgy and Bess Jazz Club in Vienna, Austria.

Who else was honoured in 2026?

Nigeria’s Nnimmo Bassey and the late Honduran leader Berta Cáceres received lifetime achievement honours. The four laureates were Seble Samuel (Ethiopia), Ana Laide Soares Barbosa (Brazil), Akino Miyagi (Japan) and Dr. Malik Oedin (New Caledonia).

What is Nnimmo Bassey known for?

Bassey is the Director of Nigeria’s Health of Mother Earth Foundation, a co-founder of Oilwatch Africa (1995), a former chair of Friends of the Earth International (2008–2012) and former Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action (1993–2013). His honours include the 2010 Right Livelihood Award, the 2012 Rafto Human Rights Award and Nigeria’s MFR national honour.

What did Bassey say on receiving the award?

According to The Authority News, he described the recognition as both an honour and a reminder of collective responsibility, saying courageous, ethical and community-centred science was essential to protecting people, ecosystems and the planet — and urging remediation and restoration for communities harmed by extractive activities.

For more on climate champions, read about the AI for Climate Action Award won by Tanzania’s Upendo Ernest Lyimo.