The Frontiers Planet Prize, the world’s leading science competition, has today announced 25 National Champions from leading research institutions across six continents – exceptional scientists whose research advances practical, scalable solutions to help keep humanity safely within the planetary boundaries.
Professor Ahmed Abdulla, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University is Canada’s 2026 National Champion. He has been recognized under the “Emissions: Insights and solutions” category for his paper, “Integrating climate and physical constraints into assessments of net capture from direct air capture facilities” (PNAS, 2024).
The paper presents a global assessment of direct air capture performance, showing how local climate conditions and the carbon intensity of energy systems affect net carbon removal, costs, and resource use. By integrating these real-world constraints into a detailed model, it highlights where the technology can be most effective and underscores how choosing the right locations and energy sources is critical to delivering real climate benefits. In Canada, government experts are already using the model as part of broader assessments to inform carbon removal policy.
Dr. Abdulla notes: “Nations are not decarbonizing fast enough to stabilize climate. Our in-depth, global analyses of the performance of a main capture technology paint a picture of carbon removal’s role in our future.” Click here to learn more.
The National Champions were selected by the Jury of 100, an independent group of leading sustainability and planetary health experts chaired by Professor Johan Rockström, architect of the planetary boundaries' framework. The Champions now move forward to the final stage of the competition, where three of them will be selected as International Champions later this year and awarded $1 million each to scale up their research globally. Click here to learn more.
Become a Nominating Body for the Frontiers Planet Prize
As Canada’s National Representative Body (NRB) for the prize, the RSC coordinates Canada’s participation by supporting universities and research institutions in registering as National Nominating Bodies (NNBs), who then nominate their top scientists for the prize. Click here to learn more.
The RSC will host a webinar this June for institutions interested in becoming NNBs. For more information, please contact Russel MacDonald, Programmes Manager at the RSC, at rmacdonald@rsc-src.ca.
For media or communications requests, please contact Paige Beveridge at communications@rsc-src.ca.
