Climate change activist Christiana Figueres receives 2018 Architectural League President's Medal

The Architectural League of New York has awarded the 2018 President's Medal to Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and instrumental figure in making the Paris Agreement of December 2015 a reality. 

"As citizens of the world, we honor her for her commitment to science, to innovation, to international diplomacy and compromise, to inclusive decision-making, to environmental justice and a just world order," said League President Billie Tsien in her presentation of the Medal at a festive event in New York. "As architects, designers, and builders, we honor her for offering us a model of action based on moral commitment and hope, and for demonstrating how to act with urgency and boldness to take on the encompassing challenge of our era, and in doing so, to imagine the possibility of a better world."

Bestowed annually as the institution's highest accolade, the program recognizes individuals for extraordinary achievements in architecture, urbanism, art, design, and the environment.

Figueres currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and convenor of the Mission 2020 program.