Archive · 12 Dec 2025
IAS Officer Wins UN Award for Climate Action
Supriya Sahu is an IAS officer who won a big award from the United Nations for her work on climate change.
She has done many things to help people and nature in Tamil Nadu.
She painted school roofs white to keep classrooms cool, planted lots of trees, and helped bring back mangroves and wetlands.
Her work has created jobs and helped people deal with the heat and other effects of climate change.
She believes that taking care of nature is important for people and that communities should be involved in conservation efforts.
Supriya Sahu, an IAS officer from Tamil Nadu, received the UN Environment Programme’s ‘Champions of the Earth’ award in 2025 for her work in sustainable cooling and ecosystem restoration.
Her initiatives, including the Cool Roof Project, have created around 2.5 million green jobs and helped nearly 12 million people cope with rising heat and climate pressures.
Sahu has doubled the mangrove cover along Tamil Nadu’s coastline and expanded wetlands from one to 20, strengthening natural buffers for coastal communities.
Over 100 million trees were planted across Tamil Nadu, and 65 new reserve forests were established under her leadership.
She credits local communities for the success of these efforts, emphasizing the importance of integrating conservation with people's lives and work.
- Who
- Supriya Sahu, an IAS officer from Tamil Nadu
- What
- Received the UN Environment Programme’s ‘Champions of the Earth’ award for her work in sustainable cooling and ecosystem restoration
- When
- 10 December 2025
- Where
- Tamil Nadu, India
- Why
- For her leadership in sustainable cooling and ecosystem restoration, which has created green jobs and helped communities cope with climate change
- Name
- Supriya Sahu
- Award
- UN Environment Programme’s ‘Champions of the Earth’ award
- Year of Award
- 2025
- Key Initiatives
- Cool Roof Project, Mangrove Restoration, Tree Planting
- Green Jobs Created
- 2.5 million
- People Benefited
- 12 million
- Trees Planted
- 100 million
- New Reserve Forests
- 65