Al Gore Honors Claudia Mellado Ñancupil with Alfredo Sirkis Memorial Green Ring Award in Santiago Climate Leadership Training Event

Santiago, Chile (11 July 2026) – Today, former US Vice President and founder of The Climate Reality Project Al Gore closed a three-day Leadership Corps training in Santiago by presenting the Alfredo Sirkis Memorial Green Ring Award to the co-founder and community engagement coordinator of Fundación Biodiversidad Alimentaria Seed Guardian, Claudia Mellado Ñancupil.

The Green Ring Award, named in honor of the Brazilian climate advocate Alfredo Sirkis who worked tirelessly to protect the environment and combat the climate crisis in his country, is one of the highest honors given by The Climate Reality Project, and recognizes Climate Reality Leaders who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to climate education and advocacy.

Claudia’s journey as a seed guardian and researcher dedicated to the preservation of traditional seeds and the protection of agri-food heritage in Chile began with the ancestral knowledge she inherited from her maternal grandparents. Driven by her interest in these topics, Claudia visited gardens throughout Chile and met with other grandmothers who preserved seeds as an act of remembrance and resistance. These lived experiences led Claudia to co-found Fundación Biodiversidad Alimentaria, a research nonprofit that bridges traditional knowledge with contemporary conservation approaches to agricultural biodiversity.

"For me, this recognition is a great honor, but above all, it means that the work of the grandmothers is being valued,” said Claudia. “They are the reason I continue on this path. That's why this award belongs to them. It's a recognition of those who conserve and defend traditional seeds, essential work for climate resilience that is often made invisible. We frequently face these struggles alone, especially in the legal realm. The Climate Reality Project understands something essential: without seeds there is no food, and without food, there is no future. That's why, on behalf of Biodiversidad Alimentaria, I receive this recognition with deep gratitude and on behalf of all the grandmothers who have dedicated their lives to caring for this heritage for the generations to come."

“Claudia’s leadership is an amazing representation of what it means to engage meaningfully with community, history, and nature. Her work with The Climate Reality Project’s Latin America branch and within communities throughout Chile is inspirational,” said Phyllis Cuttino, president and CEO of The Climate Reality Project. “Preserving and respecting ancestral conservation knowledge is key to addressing the climate crisis, and Claudia leads by example through her educational outreach and dedication to protecting Chile’s diverse agri-food heritage.”

Trained as a Climate Reality Leader through the 2020 Global Virtual Training, Claudia is one of the Latin America branches' most engaged Leaders, using every opportunity to inspire their regional network to bridge local knowledge and action. Her commitment to climate advocacy and cultivating change that endures generations is apparent in her outreach. Claudia works across Chile’s Indigenous communities to expand traditional ecological knowledge, seed exchange practices, and community participation.

In his final presentation in Chile, Al Gore posed three key questions to the audience: Must we change? Can we change? Will we change? The answer to all these questions is yes.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate highlighted that the good news is that transformation is possible: "We have the necessary potential in clean energy, and Chile is inspiring the world with its wind and solar energy projects. That is why we are here with The Climate Reality Project, that is why you are here, and that is why our allied organizations are working in Santiago."

To conclude, Al Gore urged the leaders in attendance to use their voice, their vote, and their choices to speak truth to power as if the world depended on them. People are demanding change, and the answer is in their hands.

The next Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training will take place in September in Singapore.

About The Climate Reality Project

Founded by former US Vice President Al Gore, The Climate Reality Project is working to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every sector of society. With a global movement of more than 4.5 million strong and a grassroots network of trained Climate Reality Leaders, we are spreading the truth about the climate crisis and building popular support for clean energy solutions. For more information, visit www.climaterealityproject.org.