Green Ambassadors: The Unlikely Voices Turning Fame Into Climate Action

This is an informative awareness article — not a breaking news report. It explains who green ambassadors are, what they actually do, and why their voices matter ahead of COP31.

Climate policy is negotiated in conference rooms, but it is often carried into people’s lives by something far less formal: a famous face. From a 1990s supermodel walking the halls of the United Nations to a Tour de France green-jersey winner planting trees in Eritrea’s highlands, green ambassadors have become some of the most effective messengers in the fight against the climate crisis. This explainer profiles what these ambassadors actually do — and why their moment is growing.

What a green ambassador actually is

The most formal version of the role lives inside the United Nations. United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors are high-profile individuals who volunteer their time, talent and passion to focus worldwide attention on issues close to their hearts, in support of UN efforts. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Goodwill Ambassadors are designated by the UNEP Executive Director and approved by the UN Secretary-General.

They are not diplomats with negotiating briefs. Their power is attention: a single announcement can carry a message about the triple planetary crisis — climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste — further in a day than years of technical reports. As Watan News reported on climate champions in the built environment, recognition and public platforms are among the tools that move climate action forward — and ambassadors wield them full-time.

Fashion’s unlikely climate envoy: Amber Valletta

On 23 September 2025, on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, UNEP named American supermodel and actor Amber Valletta as its Goodwill Ambassador. Valletta, a member of the Cherokee Nation who has appeared on more than 100 international covers of Vogue, was chosen for a career-long campaign that few in fashion matched: she founded Master & Muse, an online platform for ecologically responsible fashion; became British Vogue’s first-ever Contributing Sustainability Editor in 2020; served as Sustainability Ambassador for the Fashion Institute of Technology; and hosted the 2022 World Oceans Day conference at the United Nations.

“It is an incredible honour to be named a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador,” said Valletta. “I hope to use my platform to amplify urgent environmental issues, champion solutions that create real impact, and inspire collective action toward a more just, healthy, and sustainable world.”

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen called the appointment a bridge between culture and climate: “Sustainable fashion is not just some trend, but a rapidly growing movement tackling the mounting footprint of the fashion and textile sector on our environment. Amber’s advocacy shows that style can be redefined to be in greater harmony with ecosystems. Her voice and experience, which bridges culture with climate issues, will help turn awareness into the action we need.”

Fashion needs that voice. Climate communicators often cite the fashion industry as responsible for roughly one-tenth of global carbon emissions — a footprint the sector has only recently begun to confront publicly.

The cyclist carrying a nation’s youth: Biniam Girmay

Sport can move a crowd like few things can. In August 2025, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) appointed Eritrean cycling champion Biniam Girmay as its National Goodwill Ambassador for climate action and youth empowerment in Eritrea. Girmay had already made history at the 2024 Tour de France, winning three sprint stages and the green points-classification jersey — and becoming the first Black African rider to win a Tour stage.

The appointment ceremony in Asmara brought together government officials and UN leaders. Girmay’s brief connects his platform directly to community-level climate work: UNDP’s original announcement highlighted youth-led restoration in Eritrea’s Anseba region — hillside terracing, reforestation and the construction of small check dams to restore degraded land and secure water for agriculture — and Eritrea’s participation in the Great Green Wall Initiative across 11 countries to combat desertification.

“Young people in Eritrea are creating inclusive, climate-resilient solutions,” said Girmay. “We must ensure they are at the forefront of climate adaptability.” The appointment places him alongside a growing roster of African UNDP advocates, including Nigerian artists Patoranking and Yemi Alade, signalling a deliberate strategy: meet young audiences where they are, through the figures they admire.

More voices in the green ambassador chorus

Valletta and Girmay are part of a much wider pattern of green ambassador climate action:

• The artist: Icelandic-Danish artist and climate activist Olafur Eliasson was appointed UNDP Goodwill Ambassador for climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals in September 2019. “Life on Earth is about co-existence,” he said at his appointment. “To respond adequately to the crisis, we — individuals, institutions, businesses, and governments — must trust the science and bring together our knowledge, creativity, and energy.”
• The diplomat: In early 2026, New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister Simon Watts appointed senior diplomat Stuart Calman as New Zealand’s Climate Change Ambassador, citing his foreign policy and climate experience and his years as ambassador to ASEAN in Jakarta (2022–2024). Calman is tasked with deepening Pacific and Southeast Asian cooperation — including support for Australia’s presidency of the COP31 negotiations — from Wellington.
• The industry leader: On 17 September 2026, the UNEP Cool Coalition presented its inaugural “Cool Leaders” award in the Individual Leader category to GREE chairperson Dong Mingzhu at the Global Cooling Pledge Assembly 2026 in Singapore. Honoured as one of three inaugural Cool Leaders, she was recognised for pioneering climate-friendly cooling — a sector whose demand and emissions are growing with extreme heat. The Assembly accelerates the Global Cooling Pledge, introduced at COP28, to cut cooling-related emissions.

FAKTA: Green ambassadors at a glance

• What they are: UN Goodwill Ambassadors are volunteers who use their fame to draw global attention to pressing issues; UNEP’s are designated by its Executive Director and approved by the UN Secretary-General.
• Amber Valletta: named UNEP Goodwill Ambassador on 23 September 2025, on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session 80.
• Biniam Girmay: appointed UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador (Eritrea) in August 2025; three Tour de France stage wins in 2024.
• Olafur Eliasson: UNDP Goodwill Ambassador for climate action and the SDGs since September 2019.
• Stuart Calman: New Zealand’s Climate Change Ambassador (early 2026), focused on the Pacific and COP31.
• Dong Mingzhu: first “Cool Leaders” individual award, UNEP Cool Coalition, 17 September 2026.
• Fashion’s footprint: often cited at roughly one-tenth of global carbon emissions.

Why their moment is now

With COP31 taking place in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2026, every government message will compete for a crowded public’s attention. Ambassadors — cultural, sporting, diplomatic and industrial — are the translators between negotiating text and public understanding. They do not set targets, they set temperatures: the public mood in which governments either act or stall.

That is why the ambassador model keeps expanding — from national roles like New Zealand’s to industry honours like the Cool Leaders awards. The fight against the climate crisis needs scientists for the facts, diplomats for the deals — and green ambassadors for the one thing neither can buy: an audience that actually listens.

Frequently asked questions

What is a UN Goodwill Ambassador?

A UN Goodwill Ambassador is a high-profile individual who volunteers time, talent and passion to draw worldwide attention to pressing global issues in support of UN efforts. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Goodwill Ambassadors are designated by the UNEP Executive Director and approved by the UN Secretary-General. They are not diplomats with negotiating briefs — their power is public attention.

When was Amber Valletta appointed by UNEP?

On 23 September 2025, on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, UNEP named American supermodel and actor Amber Valletta — a member of the Cherokee Nation with more than 100 international Vogue covers — as its Goodwill Ambassador, honouring her long record in sustainable fashion.

What has Biniam Girmay achieved in cycling?

At the 2024 Tour de France, Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay won three sprint stages and the green points-classification jersey, becoming the first Black African rider to win a Tour stage. UNDP appointed him its National Goodwill Ambassador for climate action and youth empowerment in Eritrea on 12 August 2025, and renewed the role for two more years in September 2026.

What is the UNEP Cool Coalition’s Cool Leaders award?

An inaugural global recognition launched by the UNEP-led Cool Coalition for leaders advancing sustainable cooling and extreme-heat resilience. At the Global Cooling Pledge Assembly in Singapore on 17 September 2026, the first awards went to Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and — as the sole individual recipient — GREE chairperson Dong Mingzhu, for pioneering climate-friendly cooling technologies.

Where and when is COP31?

COP31, the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference, takes place in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026. Under a compromise reached at COP30, Türkiye hosts the conference while Australia presides over the negotiations.