Jane Kleeb, a key figure in the successful fight to stop the Keystone XL pipeline, was awarded the $3 million Climate Breakthrough Award by a global philanthropy on Wednesday. Kleeb, who chairs the Nebraska Democratic Party, said she planned to use the award to build rural alliances for land preservation and clean energy development.
“The land in rural communities can harness enough clean energy to power America for the next century and beyond,” said Kleeb, with the proviso that clean energy projects must benefit local residents. “This is an economic opportunity to transform America’s energy system with people — and land — at the center of change.”
Gita Syahrani, an environmental organizer in Indonesia, also was named a 2023 winner, said the group Climate Breakthrough. With her $3 million award, she planned to demonstrate the economic viability of nature-based businesses in forest- and peatland-rich regions as an economic model for Indonesia.
“Gita and Jane are two inspiring leaders who have already made remarkable contributions to addressing the climate crisis, and now they’re setting their sights on even more ambitious goals,” said Savanna Ferguson, executive director of Climate Breakthrough. Founded in 2016, the group describes itself as “supporting extraordinary leaders to pursue ambitious and
transformative climate action that swiftly and justly closes the gap between the world today and a
sustainable future.”