Congratulations to the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize winners San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper Diane Wilson from the North America/United States, Chilekwa Mumba from Africa/Zambia, Zafer Kizilkaya from Asia/Turkey, Tero Mustonen from Europe/Finland, Delima Silalahi from Islands & Island Nations/Indonesia, and Alessandra Korap Munduruku from South & Central America/Brazil.
“The Goldman Environmental Prize, which is like a Nobel Prize for environmental advocacy, honors ordinary people who make an extraordinary impact. Diane, and her fellow 2023 winners, have an outsized impact on our life on this planet and follow a long line of the Goldman Prize’s exemplary change-makers. It’s been a privilege to witness Diane’s tireless commitment to protecting her waterways and community against the threats of corporate polluters and other dangers.” Marc Yaggi, CEO, Waterkeeper Alliance
Diane is being recognized with the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize for her phenomenal December 2019 win of a landmark case against Formosa Plastics, one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies, for the illegal dumping of toxic plastic waste on Texas’ Gulf Coast. The $50 million settlement is the largest award in a citizen suit against an industrial polluter in the history of the US Clean Water Act. As a part of the settlement, Formosa Plastics agreed to reach “zero-discharge” of plastic waste from its Point Comfort factory, pay penalties until discharges cease, and fund remediation of affected local wetlands, beaches, and waterways.
Visit goldprize.org/2023 to learn more about these six phenomenal grassroots environmental leaders who prove that ordinary people can have an extraordinary impact on the planet.
