December 25, 2025 – The International Engineering and Technology Institute (IETI) is proud to announce Professor Lonnie G. Thompson as the Laureate of the 4th IETI Green Development and Sustainability Award.

Professor Thompson, a renowned paleoclimatologist and Distinguished University Professor at The Ohio State University, is honored in recognition of his pioneering contributions to paleoclimatology through decades of high-altitude expeditions retrieving ice cores from tropical glaciers, revealing millennia of climate history, and providing irrefutable evidence of human-accelerated global warming, thereby advancing global environmental protection and alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Over decades of daring expeditions to remote glaciers in Peru, the Himalayas, and Kilimanjaro, he has retrieved and analyzed ice cores that preserve millennia of Earth's climate records. His findings have provided direct, compelling evidence of rapid human-induced global warming and the critical role of tropical regions in the global climate system.This prestigious award recognizes individuals whose innovative research significantly advances green development, environmental protection, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Professor Thompson's courageous efforts, often conducted in extreme conditions, have transformed our understanding of climate change and underscored the urgency of sustainable action.The IETI Green Development and Sustainability Award continues to highlight global leaders in sustainability, following previous laureates such as Sir Partha Dasgupta.