Award recognizes grassroots environmental leaders who take significant action for our planet
Credit: Goldman Environmental Prize
Climate campaigner Sarah Finch, who won a landmark and far-reaching legal victory in the UK Supreme Court in 2024 in a case she brought on behalf of the Weald Action Group, is one of the six winners of the prestigious 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize.
The Prize is awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists from each of the world’s six primary regions. Prize winners are selected by an international jury from nominations submitted by a worldwide network of organizations and individuals.
Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group led a tireless campaign against oil drilling in south-east England for over a decade, persevering through five years of escalating court battles against one oil development in Surrey, until they secured the historic Supreme Court ruling in June 2024 that finally stopped its expansion. The resulting “Finch ruling” states that authorities must consider the impacts that the burning of fossil fuels will have on the global climate before granting permission to extract them.
The ground-breaking judgment is now having implications for new fossil fuel projects across the UK and beyond. It put a stop to other fossil fuel extraction projects, including a new coal mine in Cumbria and the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea. It has been cited in planning decisions and legal cases on other sectors, including aviation and industrial animal farming. Courts in Norway, Guyana and Australia have since made similar judgments.
Sarah Finch said: “I am honoured to accept the Prize on behalf of the Weald Action Group and all communities that are fighting to keep fossil fuels in the ground. The science is unequivocal: there is no room for any more extraction and burning of coal, oil or gas if we want to stay within safe climate thresholds.”
“With many years of community mobilising, popular protests and a landmark legal victory, the Weald Action Group has changed the future of fossil fuels in the UK. We have shown that ordinary people organising together can win big victories, even against challenges as huge as the climate crisis.”
Katie de Kauwe, senior lawyer at Friends of the Earth, who helped support the legal challenge, said: “The Finch ruling is one of the most significant legal breakthroughs this century in the fight against the climate crisis. It has fundamentally changed the rule book for granting new fossil fuel projects, as it forces developers to take responsibility for the full climate impacts of their planet-wrecking projects. The ruling resulted in the quashing of several other consents for fossil fuel projects in the UK, including a huge coal mine in Cumbria, and it is also making waves internationally.”
“All of this was possible thanks to the determination of a local community group in Surrey, who were prepared to take on both the government and financial might of fossil fuel interests. Friends of the Earth was proud to intervene in support of their case from the very beginning right up to the Supreme Court. This award to Sarah is richly deserved and recognises the incredible power of grassroots action to change the world.”
Lorraine Inglis of the Weald Action Group said: “We are grateful to Sarah for stepping forward and representing our case – and we are incredibly proud of our successful campaign on Horse Hill which has changed the story on proposed UK fossil fuel developments. Around the world, thousands of dedicated campaigners like Sarah and the other Goldman Prize winners are making a real impact and all their efforts are essential.”
The 2026 Goldman Prize winners include two more climate activists. Yuvelis Morales Blanco from Colombia helped mobilize her community against two drilling projects, successfully preventing the introduction of commercial fracking into Colombia. Borim Kim from South Korea and her organization, Youth 4 Climate Action won the first successful youth-led climate litigation in Asia, mandating the creation of legally binding emissions reduction targets from 2031–2049 to meet the country’s pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Read about all the winners here: https://www.goldmanprize.org/all-winners/
John Goldman, vice president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, said, “While we continue to fight uphill to protect the environment and implement lifesaving climate policies – in the US and globally – it is clear that true leaders can be found all around us. The 2026 Prize winners are proof positive that courage, hard work, and hope go a long way toward creating meaningful progress. I am especially thrilled to honor our first-ever cohort of six women, as this is a powerful reflection of the absolutely central role that women play in the environmental community globally.”
The Goldman Prize was founded in 1989 by philanthropists and civic leaders Rhoda and Richard Goldman and in its 37 years, 239 winners from 98 nations have been honoured with the Prize.
Read more:
The Goldman Prize was founded in 1989 by philanthropists and civic leaders Rhoda and Richard Goldman and in its 37 years, 239 winners from 98 nations have been honoured with the Prize. www.goldmanprize.org/all-winners
Sarah Finch’s Supreme Court win: https://www.wealdactiongroup.org.uk/2024/06/horse-hill-supreme-court-judgment
Supreme Court’judgment, see Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group) v Surrey County Council and others: https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2022-0064.html
