The Environmental Rights Africa (ERA) Coalition has congratulated its Lead Campaigner, Alfred Lahai Gbabai Brownell Sr, on receiving the 2026 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy.
Brownell was presented with the award alongside Durwood Zaelke at a ceremony held at Pace University in New York City on Wednesday.
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law named both men as recipients for what it described as their groundbreaking contributions to the progressive development of environmental law and their decades of leadership in advancing environmental justice, climate action and environmental governance around the world.
According to the school, both honourees have shown the transformative power of law in tackling some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
It credited Brownell with pioneering legal strategies to protect communities, environmental and climate defenders and natural resources, while advancing environmental rights and climate justice across Africa and globally.
Zaelke was recognised for his leading role in strengthening the Montreal Protocol and building on its success in protecting the ozone layer to deliver significant climate benefits, including through the landmark Kigali Amendment.
“Alfred Brownell and Durwood Zaelke exemplify the vision and leadership that the Elisabeth Haub Award was created to recognize,” said Horace E. Anderson Jr., Dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law and President of the Haub Award Jury.
Commending Brownell, ERA coalition, in a statement issued by Philip Jakpor, a member of its Steering Committee and Coordinator of its Communications Work Group, said the award was well deserved and a reward for Brownell’s doggedness in defending marginalised and violated communities across Africa.
Head of the ERA Coalition Secretariat, Peter Quaqua, said the honour went beyond Brownell himself.
“This recognition is not only a tribute to Alfred’s extraordinary courage, leadership, and lifelong commitment to environmental and human rights, but also an affirmation of the struggles of African communities and frontline environmental defenders who continue to stand up for their lands, livelihoods, and dignity, often at great personal risk,” he said.
Thuli Brilliance Makama, Senior Advisor for Africa at Oil Change International, described the award as a recognition of excellence.
“Brownell has been exemplary to our generation and is now a beacon of hope for the younger generation of environmental rights advocates who need guiding lights in a world darkened by injustice,” she said.
Aminata Finda Massaquoi, National Coordinator of the Women’s Network Against Rural Plantations Injustice (WoNARPI) in Sierra Leone, said, “Today we celebrate a selfless activist not just in Africa but across the Globe. Alfred is a motivator to many of us who want to see freedom and dignity restored to every human on Earth.”
Brownell is the Lead Campaigner for both the African Climate Platform (ACP) and the ERA Coalition. He is also the Founding President of the Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef), which provides legal support and protection to climate activists and defenders around the world.
He previously founded and led Green Advocates International, Liberia’s first public interest environmental law and human rights organisation.
He is currently leading efforts to strengthen environmental and climate governance across Africa. These include a petition seeking an advisory opinion from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the legal obligations of African states in responding to the climate crisis, and a push for a binding regional environmental rights treaty for Africa.
The Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy, described by its organisers as the most prestigious award in the field, has been presented since 1979. It has been shaped by progress in environmental law and policy and by collaborations with the Université libre de Bruxelles and the International Council of Environmental Law.
