2026 Global Climate Geodesign Competition Finalists

The inaugural Global Climate Geodesign Competition (GCGC) pilot held its award ceremony on 15 July 2026 at the Esri User Conference in San Diego.

Submissions were invited across open categories, such as cities and regions; countries and bio-regions; unions and groups of countries; and/or coastal and marine areas, maritime regions, Exclusive Economic Zones and the High Seas. The qualitative criteria are functionality, resilience and amenity; and entries were also judged on their quantified impact.

The international Jury comprised oceanographer Professor Dawn Wright (Esri Chief Scientist); forest expert Professor Emeritus William Moomaw (Distinguished Visiting Scientist, Woodwell Climate Research Center); founder of the Ecological Transition Workshop Dr. Panos Mantziaras (Director of the Braillard Foundation); hydrologist Professor Carmen de Jong (University of Strasbourg); and renewable energy autonomy expert Professor Dieter Genske (University of Nordhausen).

Congratulations to the five finalists