The Swedish Foundation Right Livelihood Award recognized the importance of international climate justice this week with the Alternative Nobel Prize.
The award was granted to the network Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC) and Guamanian lawyer Julian Aguon for their outstanding work in the fight for climate justice.
The student network represents the Pacific islands, territories facing existential threats due to the rising sea levels and other effects of global warming.
This international recognition distinguishes leaders and organizations working towards urgent solutions to the most critical global challenges.
Alternative Nobel Prize: what their winners achieved
PISFCC and Julian Aguon share the award “for bringing the petition for climate justice to the world’s top court.”
According to the official statement from the Right Livelihood Award, they managed to “turn survival into a matter of rights and climate action into a legal responsibility.”
This award gains special relevance after the historic ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued last July.
It concerns the advisory opinion confirming that States have legal obligations to prevent climate damage, provide compensation, and protect present and future generations.
This judicial decision opens new legal pathways globally to demand climate accountability from governments.
Climate justice: the work of the group of young students
Founded in 2019 by 27 law students from the Solomon Islands, the PISFCC carried out extraordinary work collecting testimonies from various communities directly affected by the devastating effects of climate change.
“Bringing these voices of loss, resistance, and calls for justice to the halls of international law ensured that the ICJ opinion was shaped by frontline realities,” highlights the Right Livelihood Award jury.
Julian Aguon: the role of the legal strategist who enabled the ICJ ruling
The writer and lawyer Julian Aguon played a “central role” in obtaining the ICJ advisory opinion.
This Guamanian provided the legal strategy for the lawsuit through his firm Blue Ocean Law, thus sharing the award with the network Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC).
Beyond his work in climate litigation, Aguon has also fought against the militarization of Guam and exposed the destruction of ancestral lands to build US military bases, defending the right to self-determination of his people.
“Through advocacy and storytelling, he has become a leading voice in Pacific resistance and a symbol of hope for a fair and sustainable future,” notes the award’s ruling.
Other recipients of the 2025 Alternative Nobel Prize
The Right Livelihood Award also honored three other outstanding initiatives:
- Justice for Myanmar: Burmese movement recognized for its work against the military junta ruling the country
- Audrey Tang: activist for Taiwanese democracy
- Emergency Response Rooms: Sudanese organization dedicated to humanitarian response
This international recognition consolidates the work of organizations and activists fighting for social justice, human rights, and environmental protection in various regions of the world.
