As recent events like Hurricanes Helene and Milton underscore the pressing need to address climate change, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation emerges as a hopeful example of how legacies rooted in fossil fuels can transform into credible climate advocates. Founded by British-Armenian oil magnate Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, the foundation’s annual Prize for Humanity embodies the spirit of hope, possibility and collective action urgently needed.
The Urgent Need for Climate Action in 2024
Even before 2024 ends, the year already vividly illustrates the ongoing clash between progress and persistent challenges. On the more positive side, on October 1st, the UK, the birthplace of coal-powered electricity, became the first advanced economy to fully phase out coal by shutting down its last coal-fired power plant.
Meanwhile, new data also highlights that bold climate action is also good for business: a coalition of 131 global companies reduced emissions by 10% from 2019 to 2022—equal to France’s annual emissions—while boosting revenues by 18%, outpacing global GDP growth. This should inspire other businesses that the time for slashing their carbon footprints is now.
Yet, the impacts of climate change are becoming more intense and undeniable. The northern hemisphere summer of 2024 was the hottest on record, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, with June and August breaking global temperature records.
And as we’re seeing unfold before our eyes right now, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly severe, as shown by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which recently struck numerous U.S. states and caused billions in damages as well as several hundred deaths. Rapid attribution studies that use peer-reviewed methods suggest that climate change—largely driven by fossil fuel use—significantly worsened their destructive impact.
At the same time, rising oil prices amid Middle East instability suggest a potential resurgence in fossil fuel investments, reminiscent of the surge that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Western oil and gas companies reaped record profits. This short-term profit fixation comes even as geopolitical instability underscores the long-term energy security and ultimately lower household bills that investing in cleaner energy sources can provide.
Selling Off Oil Interests
It is against this backdrop of contradiction that the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s journey stands out. Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, the foundation’s namesake, may be lesser known today, but his impact on the oil industry was significant. Born in the Ottoman Empire and trained as an engineer, he was among the first to see the Middle East’s potential as a major oil producing region. Nicknamed “Mr. Five Percent,” he held a 5% stake in the oil companies he helped establish in the region. In 1938, just before World War II, he founded Participations and Explorations Corporation (Partex) to manage his oil assets, which he bequeathed to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation upon his death in 1955.
The Foundation, with a current endowment of $4 billion, was until relatively recently best known for its contributions to the arts and education, housing Gulbenkian’s extensive art collection—one of Europe’s largest private collections. However, this focus has dramatically expanded over the past decade to include, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, climate action.
Martin Essayan, Gulbenkian’s great-grandson and an executive trustee of the Foundation, explains that after considerable soul-searching and debate among family members, the Foundation’s management board unanimously decided to sell its stake in Partex in 2019. Although Gulbenkian’s will emphasized the foundation’s perpetuity, it did not explicitly mention Partex, allowing the administrators the freedom to pivot away from the volatile and increasingly unsustainable world of fossil fuels.
Reflecting on the decision to sell its oil interests, Essayan describes the sale as both challenging and liberating. “We got a lot of cash in when we did that, and it was a very difficult decision, as I think it often is when a foundation exits from its founding company. We wanted to celebrate that decision and mark it very publicly, and prizes are excellent for celebration and public acknowledgment,” he said. The sale opened the door for the foundation to expand its environmental ambitions, enabling it to take bolder and more credible steps in advocating for climate solutions without being accused of greenwashing.
A Platform for Climate Solutions
The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity emerged from this shift, with its first recipient being Greta Thunberg in 2020—a choice that sparked controversy in some quarters close to the Foundation due to her vocal criticism of the fossil fuel industry. Yet, the decision, according to Essayan, underscored the Foundation’s shift to more “progressive values.” Indeed, Essayan argues, such values are actually not that much of a departure from his great grandfather’s beliefs. “When the founder developed his oil interests, oil was seen as a cleaner alternative to coal,” he explains. Calouste Gulbenkian’s love for nature, reflected in his estate devoted to planting trees and wildlife, laid the groundwork for the foundation’s current mission Essayan further argues.
Thunberg, for her part, would go on to donate her €1 million in prize money, made possible by the sale of the Foundation’s oil interests, to 12 organizations focused on environmental and humanitarian efforts. This included ActionAid Bangladesh, which provided emergency support to over 450 families affected by severe flooding, and the International Organization for Migration, which assisted displaced communities in Somalia. Subsquent winners have included mayors, scientists, and custodians of nature and biodiversity.
Overseen by a distinguished jury currently chaired by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the prize has garnered significant recognition in its brief history. Louisa Hooper, the Foundation’s head of sustainability in the UK, notes that the stories of the winners showcase the far-reaching effects of the foundation’s support. This includes initiatives like installing new LED lighting in 2,000 households across Senegal and Cameroon, providing scholarships to develop young climate researchers in the Global South, and increasing agricultural yield through the promotion of innovative, climate-resilient methods.
In recent more years, according to Hooper, the foundation has opted to distribute funds in phases, following brief impact reports, allowing for a clearer demonstration of how the prize grants make a difference. As Essayan explains, “It’s open funding… we’re not dictating how they use it, but we’re trying to help support them to use it well.”
This year’s focus was on sustainable agriculture. According to Hooper, it attracted 181 nominations, up from 143 the previous year, with a significant increase in submissions from countries in the Global South thanks to targeted outreach over email and social media.
The 2024 Winners
The three winners of the 2024 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity are making significant strides in promoting sustainability and climate resilience in the field of agriculture:
- Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF), launched in 2016 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, has empowered over a million smallholder farmers—mostly women—to transition from chemical-intensive agriculture to natural and regenerative farming.
- Dr. Rattan Lal, a renowned soil scientist, advocates for methods that balance food production with ecological preservation.
- SEKEM, established nearly 50 years ago, has supported over 5,000 farmers and transformed more than 12,000 hectares of land in Egypt.
A Call for Hope and Possibility, or Toxic Positivity?
Reflecting on this year’s prize winners, Hooper underscores the profound connections between climate, nature, and humanity. She states, “We won’t solve the climate crisis without protecting and restoring nature… and we won’t find the right solutions unless people are at the heart of change.” This is an important point, especially considering the well-documented divisions within climate and conservation movements that often threaten to derail progress.
Essayan, discussing the overall purpose of the Prize, emphasizes its mission to inspire “hope and possibility” by highlighting the impact of individual and community-driven solutions, particularly the potential that arises when local initiatives are scaled globally.
However, cynics might dismiss such lofty talk as examples of so-called “toxic positivity.” A recent writer, reflecting on the recent Climate Week NYC, noted the jarring disconnect between calls for positivity at the record number of events and panels in New York alongside the harsh realities confronting us, including Hurricane Helene, landslides in Nepal, and the imprisonment of a climate activist in the UK. They pointed out that while optimism is vital, it can’t come at the expense of acknowledging the truth.
As one response to this criticism articulated, “The first thing our evidence tells us is that a narrative of devastation is the worst way to motivate people. But if we focus solely on positivity, we miss the mark. We must balance urgency with agency.” So, as this same Climate Week NYC attendee questioned, “How do we get people to care about the planet when they have so many worries about how they will get through the week?” They concluded that we need communication that emphasizes agency and action, not mere positivity, stating: “it’s about giving agency – or, more simply put, it’s about getting sh*t done, often in the face of a challenging context and odds. It’s about possibility, not positivity.”
The stories worth telling and amplifying then are those that highlight real accomplishments amidst adversity. Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados is one storyteller of course who exemplifies this approach, offering narratives of possibility, hope, and agency – after all, she’s already wracked up some significant policy breakthroughs for her people – while being unflinching in her truth-telling. This approach is perhaps why her recent speech at the Global Citizen Now: Health and Climate Sessions was hailed as “the single best speech” of Climate Week NYC by Mark Leon Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the U.N.’s Global Dispatches newsletter and podcast.
For the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s part, “possibility” is a concept that resonates with Essayan. With another round of winners benefitting from their support, they now have even more opportunities to showcase stories of individuals and communities making tangible progress, even in the face of significant challenges. After all, as the foundation’s legacy demonstrates, two things can coexist: an institution rooted in oil money can contribute to solutions for the climate crisis, and hope and possibility can persist, even as recent events remind us of how perilously close we are to the climate precipice.