ANTALYA: TIME has named 100 leaders to its 2026 TIME100 Climate list, published on 9 November 2026, recognising the people driving measurable climate action across government, science, business, finance and advocacy. The honorees are gathering in Antalya this evening, 10 November, for the TIME100 Impact Dinner during COP31 — putting the list’s champions in the same city as the negotiators deciding the next steps of the climate talks.
The list describes itself as honouring “100 leaders driving measurable, successful, and equitable business climate action”. It is organised into five categories of 20 names each — Titans, Leaders, Innovators, Defenders and Catalysts — spanning heads of government and ministers, scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, lawyers, journalists and community leaders.
Who made the 2026 list
Among the names are United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; Fiame Naomi Mata’afa of Samoa; Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen; and Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, who holds the COP31 presidency. United States governors Spencer Cox of Utah and Matt Meyer of Delaware are also named, along with former United States Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
From science and research, the list includes Professor Kaveh Madani, director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, recognised for his work on global water governance and his concept of water bankruptcy. Madani received the Stockholm Water Prize in August 2026 and was named to The Independent’s 2026 Climate 100 in September 2026. European Climate Foundation chief executive Laurence Tubiana is also named.
COP31 leaders on the list
Kurum and Bowen share a joint entry on the list, labelled “COP31 LEADERS”. Kurum holds the COP31 presidency while Bowen, as Australia’s climate and energy minister, leads the negotiations at the Antalya summit. Their joint listing underlines how closely this year’s list is tied to the conference itself: the people running COP31 are among those TIME chose to honour.
The connection runs through the week. COP31’s Climate Champions opened the Global Climate Action programme in Antalya as the summit began, and the World Leaders’ Summit follows on 11 and 12 November. Guterres, also on the list, warned in an interview with The Associated Press published on 6 November that the world was approaching a critical moment in the fight against climate change, urging governments to move faster from discussion to measurable action.
Science, business and culture
Business and innovation names include Rivian founder and chief executive RJ Scaringe, Rainforest Alliance chief executive Santiago Gowland, and Tenzin Seldon, founder and managing partner of Pulse Fund and creator of Gross Domestic Regeneration, a framework that scores economies on ecological, social and capital regeneration. Seldon is attending tonight’s TIME100 Impact Dinner in Antalya, where a pilot of her framework with a consortium of eight countries is under discussion.
The list also recognises people working on the human side of the crisis. Adrienne Heinz, co-founder and executive director of The After Collective, is honoured for her work on the mental-health effects of climate disasters and is convening a discussion on disaster mental health at COP31 this week. Sam Baraso, manager of the Portland Clean Energy Fund, is one of very few local-government leaders on the list, recognised for a city fund held up as a model for other cities. Jillian Blanchard of Lawyers for Good Government is named for climate and environmental-justice law, and Noticias Telemundo anchor Vanessa Hauc is named for leading Planeta Tierra, the network’s environment and climate reporting unit.
Culture is represented too. Actor and environmental entrepreneur Edward Norton is on the list, as is actor and climate advocate Benedict Cumberbatch. Prince William, listed as William, Prince of Wales, is honoured for the Earthshot Prize: TIME says its finalists have helped avoid or capture more than 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions and protect and restore 143 million acres of land and freshwater systems. The list even includes Elmo of Sesame Street, showing how far climate recognition now reaches beyond governments and boardrooms.
What the list measures
According to TIME, the selection emphasises measurable and sustained contributions to climate action over the preceding 12 months, rather than promises or single announcements. That focus is what links the five categories: Titans and Leaders are largely public figures and policymakers, while Innovators, Defenders and Catalysts cover the founders, scientists, lawyers, journalists and community organisers turning policy into projects on the ground.
The list is not a United Nations award and carries no negotiating power. Its influence is different: it sets the names that media, investors and delegations watch during COP week, and tonight’s dinner in Antalya puts many of them in one room while the summit’s first week is still under way. Young people are also shaping the agenda in Antalya this week, with the new Global Youth Climate Action Network launching at COP31 tomorrow, 11 November.
Key facts
- TIME published the 2026 TIME100 Climate list on 9 November 2026, naming 100 climate leaders in five categories of 20: Titans, Leaders, Innovators, Defenders and Catalysts.
- The list honours “100 leaders driving measurable, successful, and equitable business climate action”, with selection based on measurable and sustained contributions over the preceding 12 months.
- COP31 President Murat Kurum and negotiations lead Chris Bowen share a joint entry labelled “COP31 LEADERS”.
- Honorees include UN Secretary-General António Guterres, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kaveh Madani of the United Nations University, and Prince William for the Earthshot Prize.
- TIME is hosting the TIME100 Impact Dinner in Antalya this evening, 10 November 2026, during COP31, which runs from 9 to 20 November 2026.
