ERA Coalition Felicitates Brownell on Prestigious Elisabeth Haub Award
The Environmental Rights Africa (ERA) Coalition has congratulated Alfred Lahai Gbabai Brownell Sr, the lead campaigner of the coalition for receiving the 2026 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy.
Brownell received the award alongside Durwood Zaelke. They were both named as recipients by the Elisabeth Haub School of Law for their groundbreaking contributions to the progressive development of environmental law and their decades of leadership advancing environmental justice, climate action, and environmental governance around the world.
The award was presented at a ceremony held at the Pace University in New York City on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.
According to the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, both honorees have demonstrated the transformative power of law to address some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
Alfred Brownell has pioneered legal strategies to protect communities, environmental and climate defenders, and natural resources while advancing environmental rights and climate justice across Africa and globally.
Durwood Zaelke on the other hand, has played a leading role in strengthening the Montreal Protocol and building on its success protecting the ozone layer to achieve 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.
In a statement shared by Philip Jakpor, ERA Coalition Steering Committee Member and Communications Work Group Coordinator, the coalition said that the award is well deserved and is a reward for Alfred’s doggedness in the defence of marginalized and violated communities across Africa.
Coalition members shared their views about the award:
Peter Quaqua, Head of ERA Coalition Secretariat said:
“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.”
Thuli Brilliance Makama, senior advisor for Africa at Oil Change International, said:
The recognition of Brownell by the Elisabeth Haub School of Law is the 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.”
Aminata Finda Massaquoi, National Coordinator, Women’s Network Against Rural Plantations Injustice (WoNARPI), 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. We congratulations him”
Brownell is the Lead Campaigner for both the African Climate Platform (ACP) and the ERA Coalition. He is 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 organization.
He is currently leading efforts to strengthen environmental and climate governance across Africa, including a petition seeking an advisory opinion from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights regarding the legal obligations of African States in responding to the climate crisis and an effort to develop a binding regional environmental rights treaty for Africa.
The Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy is the world’s most prestigious award in the field of environmental law. The Award has a distinguished history since 1979 shaped by progress in the field of environmental law and policy, and through collaborations with the Université libre de Bruxelles and the International Council of Environmental Law.
