On 23 June 2026, in the Temperate House of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, António Guterres received the special Kew International Medal. The director of the gardens presented the award not on the usual cycle, but off schedule — in recognition of his role in elevating climate and conservation issues to the global level.
For the UN Secretary-General, this is not merely a personal honour. Guterres accepted the medal "not for himself, but for the United Nations and for all who work within it for the good of nature." He stressed: nature is our greatest ally, and science is the compass that must guide action. These words were spoken against the backdrop of London Climate Action Week, where he also launched a global call to cut methane emissions and an initiative on transparency regarding AI's impact on the environment.
Over nearly a decade in the post, Guterres has consistently placed climate and biodiversity loss at the centre of the agenda. He insisted on accelerating the transition to renewable energy, strengthening the Paris Agreement and mobilising states, business and civil society. His predecessors as Secretary-General also spoke about climate, but Guterres made it one of the central themes of his mandate, even when geopolitical crises diverted attention.
The award from Kew — an institution with a two-century history of a scientific approach to plants and fungi — underscores precisely this emphasis on the evidence base. Guterres has repeatedly said that when nature is treated as expendable material, humanity pays the price. This is not new rhetoric: even before the UN, as Prime Minister of Portugal and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, he promoted ideas of sustainable development and collective responsibility.
At a moment when multilateral institutions face growing scepticism, accepting an award from a scientific body looks like a confirmation of a long-standing line of conduct. Guterres uses the symbolic capital of the award to remind us: climate and nature crises require joint action, not isolation. He does not change course under pressure — he reinforces it.
Just as the old oak at Kew withstands droughts because its roots are intertwined with the roots of its neighbours, so too global problems are solved only through intertwined efforts. Guterres understands this better than many.
The recognition from Kew shows: even when national interests dominate, there are figures who continue to keep the long-term interconnection of humanity and nature in focus — and who pay for it with their reputation rather than retreating.
