Twelve environmentalists in the Asia-Pacific region have won US$10,000 each to support their energy-efficient, low-waste, and low-carbon business ideas.
Sasiranga De Silva ,a lecturer at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Motratuwa, won an award in the Low Carbon Mobility category for bringing the iconic tuk tuk into the eVehicle market. His startup is developing an affordable conversion kit that will allow tuk-tuk drivers to convert their existing iconic vehicles to an electric powertrain that will generate zero tailpipe emissions.
UN Environment’s Director for the Asia-Pacific region, Dechen Tsering, said, “From plastic waste to climate change, we who live in Asia and the Pacific are confronting environmental challenges face-to-face almost daily. The natural ingenuity we find across our region is the key to solving these problems.”
The winning project address a variety of sustainability challenges across the region, offering innovative solutions for local, regional or even global environmental issues.