PM on inaugural TIME100 list of most influential climate leaders

Prime Minister Mia Mottley is on the inaugural TIME100 Climate, a list of the world’s most influential leaders driving business to real climate action.

She was named among the policymakers and government officials on the new list which is made up of leaders, catalysts, titans, innovators, and defenders.

TIME identified Mottley as one of the defenders, describing the Barbadian leader as “one of the world’s most vocal advocates for wealthy nations and historic polluters to support the most vulnerable countries facing permanent loss or damages from climate change”.

Referring to her writing for TIME that “developing countries rightfully demand that their rich neighbours do more, given the wealth they’ve gained from years of burning fossil fuels unchecked”, the creators of the inaugural list noted that to address that need, last year she helped launch the Bridgetown Initiative, which calls for a new global mechanism to quickly channel funds to support climate adaptation.

It pointed to her other achievements and efforts, including developing Barbados’ ambitious plan to phase out fossil fuels by 2030, and this year convening the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris to force reform of multilateral development banks and reduce lending costs for small island developing states.

Prime Minister Mottley is among the 45 women on the list. Others include musician Billie Eilish, fashion designer Stella McCartney, philanthropist Melinda French Gates, and Brazil’s minister of environment Marina Silva.

The other policymakers and government officials on the list include US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry, US State Senator Scott Weiner, principal deputy assistant secretary in the US Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Jennifer Wilcox, Copenhagen Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, and former VP of the European Commission Frans Timmermans.

The 2023 TIME100 Climate list also features various CEOs, founders and co-founders: Bill Gates of Breakthrough Energy, Josh Tetrick of Eat Just, Mateo Jaramillo of Form Energy, Edda Sif Pind Aradóttir of Carbfix, Peter Carlsson of Northvolt, Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher of Climeworks, Manoj Sinha of Husk Power Systems, Val Miftakhov of ZeroAvia, María Mendiluce of We Mean Business Coalition, Martin Lundstedt of Volvo, Jesper Brodin of Ingka Group/IKEA, Beth Ford of Land O’Lakes, and more.

The list also features creatives who are key drivers of climate action within their business community, such as rock band Coldplay, singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, Youtuber MrBeast, filmmaker James Cameron, architect William McDonough, and guitarist and vocalist Adam Gardner.
(BT)