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SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah's Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy will be administering a $1.5-million international prize to recognize and support the "world's most promising ideas" to address the impacts of climate change.
U. President Taylor Randall, along with local philanthropists Scott Anderson and Peter Huntsman on Friday announced the Wilkes Center Climate Prize during the inaugural Conservative Climate Summit, hosted at the U.'s David Eccles School of Business by Utah Rep. John Curtis.
The solution-focused prize is one of the largest university-affiliated awards in the world and applications for the award will open in January.
"The Utah business community is on the frontlines of both climate change and accelerating economic prosperity," said Anderson, president and CEO at Zions Bank. He said the financial prize will help to "advance the best ideas to address worldwide climate issues."
The recipient of the $1.5 million prize will be selected by an "expert panel" of judges, from varying sectors, who will identify the best idea to address climate change, including from sources like basic research, entrepreneurial ventures and nonprofit initiatives, among others.
"We're proud to administer this exciting new prize here at the University of Utah," Randall said. "Our faculty and student researchers are singularly focused on finding creative and cutting-edge solutions to the urgent problems facing our society. Climate change is top of mind on our campus."
There are several U. initiatives and programs that reinforce Randall's claims, too.
In 2010, the University of Utah completed its first Climate Action Plan.
Climate change is top of mind on our campus.
–University of Utah President Taylor Randall
It has since implemented a multitude of sustainability policy changes and commitments, including reducing campus outdoor water usage, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, and enacting Randall's commitment for the campus to be completely carbon-neutral by 2040.
"We understand that sustainability is about more than the environment — it's also about economic security and social equity. Prioritizing the needs and voices of individuals and communities most impacted by climate change is a core value in our approach to this work," Randall said in a September letter to the campus community announcing the carbon-neutral goals.
"That's why our Climate Change Action Plan will provide clear, actionable steps for the university to meet its carbon neutrality and other climate change goals while centering equity in every step of the planning and implementation process."
Financial co-sponsors on the $1.5-million prize include Zions Bank, the Cumming Foundation, the Huntsman Foundation, Clay and Marie Wilkes, Finley Resources, Huntsman Corporation and Chevron.
At Friday's announcement of the prize, Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman Corporation, stressed the need for innovation and said that addressing climate issues "all starts with creativity."
"We need the innovations (and) it's going to come out of places like the University of Utah," he said. "It's about the community coming together to make tomorrow a better place."
William Anderegg, a global ecology scholar and director at the Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy, said he believes Utah is the best place to be having conversations centered around climate due to "incredible" traditions of innovation and leadership.
"There's every reason to think that we're going to solve this in the 21st century," Anderegg said. "Utah can be at the forefront of tackling climate change. ... It's this collaborative effort that we are in this together and we need all of the best ideas at the table, all of the perspectives at the table, and we can chart a much brighter future for Utah and for the United States."
The prize winner will be announced at the 2023 Wilkes Center Climate Summit.
"We look forward to all your applications to our prize," Randall said.
For more information about the prize, visit wilkescenter.utah.edu.
