The American University of Sharjah has just landed a significant first for the UAE. Professor Steve Griffiths, the university’s Vice Chancellor for Research, has been named the country’s National Champion at the 2026 Frontiers Planet Prize.
The win marks the UAE’s debut in one of the world’s most respected sustainability science competitions. Each year, the Frontiers Planet Prize spotlights research tackling the planet’s most urgent challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss.
Professor Steve Griffiths was selected as one of just 25 national winners globally by an independent panel of leading scientists, chaired by Johan Rockström, the mind behind the widely used planetary boundaries framework.
At the centre of the recognition is a major study on carbon capture published in Nature Reviews Chemistry, which looks at how we actually make this technology work at scale.
Heavy industries like cement, steel and chemicals are responsible for roughly 40 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and they’re notoriously difficult to clean up. Renewable energy alone won’t solve it.
Griffiths and his team, working alongside researchers from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Sussex, assessed five emerging carbon capture technologies to understand what’s actually viable, and how close we are to real-world deployment.
‘Our research evaluates five families of carbon capture technology at or beyond the prototype stage to give industry and policymakers a clear, evidence-based picture of what works, where, and how close it is to deployment. Advancing these technologies is critical if we are serious about ever achieving net-zero emissions,’ said Professor Griffiths.
According to the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global carbon capture capacity needs to increase more than 100-fold by 2050 if we’re serious about limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Right now, we’re nowhere near that.
Beyond the award itself, the research is already feeding into policy. It has been included in a global report, From Science to Policy: Planetary Solutions in Action, developed with Frontiers Policy Labs, the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
From Collaboration to What Comes Next
The Frontiers Planet Prize also highlights something often overlooked in climate conversations: progress rarely happens in isolation. This research is the result of cross-border collaboration, bringing together scientists, institutions and disciplines to tackle a problem that doesn’t recognise borders.
It’s not the first time this team has worked together. A previous study explored greener flight paths and sustainable aviation fuel for long-haul travel, and the next project is already underway, focusing on digital shipping corridors designed to reduce emissions at sea.
As a National Champion, Dr. Griffiths will present his award-winning research at national and international conferences to support the systemic change needed to safeguard our planet’s health.
He has also been invited to attend the Frontiers Planet Prize Award Ceremony on 18 January 2027 in Davos. The scientists awarded in this round will be considered for the USD 1 million prize, which is awarded to three winning scientists later in the year.
