The 2026 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development has been awarded to Susan Solomon, the Lee and Geraldine Professor of Environmental Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for her pioneering work that fundamentally altered humanity's understanding of atmospheric chemistry and laid the groundwork for one of the most successful environmental treaties in history. The Tang Prize Foundation announced the selection on Monday, highlighting Solomon's four decades of research connecting chlorofluorocarbons to ozone depletion and her more recent contributions to climate change science.
The award, often described as Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, carries a cash prize of NT$40 million (approximately US$1.3 million) and a research grant. Solomon becomes the first atmospheric chemist to receive the honor since the Tang Prize was established in 2014 by Taiwanese entrepreneur Samuel Yin. The foundation praised her 'transformative contributions that bridged rigorous scientific inquiry with actionable global policy.'
The Antarctic expedition that changed environmental history
In 1986, a 30-year-old Susan Solomon led a team of scientists to Antarctica as part of the National Ozone Expedition, a mission that would forever alter the trajectory of environmental policy. Working in temperatures that plunged below minus 50 degrees Celsius, Solomon and her colleagues gathered crucial data proving that chlorofluorocarbons—chemicals widely used in refrigerators, air conditioners, and aerosol sprays—were responsible for the alarming depletion of the Earth's protective ozone layer.
What made Solomon's contribution particularly groundbreaking was her identification of a previously unknown chemical mechanism. She demonstrated that polar stratospheric clouds, which form in the extreme cold of the Antarctic winter, provided surfaces where chlorine from CFCs could catalyze the rapid destruction of ozone molecules. This discovery explained why the ozone hole appeared most dramatically over the South Pole and why the problem was far more urgent than previous models had suggested. Her findings were published in a series of landmark papers that became the scientific foundation for international action.
From laboratory to global treaty: The Montreal Protocol
Solomon's research arrived at a critical juncture in environmental diplomacy. Just one year after her Antarctic expedition, in 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed by 46 nations. The treaty mandated the phase-out of CFC production and consumption, and Solomon's clear, compelling presentations of the scientific evidence were instrumental in building the political consensus needed for such unprecedented international cooperation.
Nearly four decades later, the Montreal Protocol stands as a monument to what science-driven policy can achieve. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, global CFC production has been reduced by 99 percent since the protocol's implementation. The World Meteorological Organization's 2025 assessment confirmed that the Antarctic ozone hole has shrunk by approximately 30 percent from its peak size in 2000, with full recovery expected by the 2060s. The treaty has also delivered significant climate benefits, as many ozone-depleting substances are potent greenhouse gases. Solomon's work thus not only saved the ozone layer but also contributed substantially to mitigating climate change.
Irreversible climate change and the long view
Following her triumph with ozone research, Solomon turned her attention to the broader climate crisis. In a seminal 2009 paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, she introduced the concept of 'irreversible climate change'—the finding that carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere will continue to affect the climate for more than 1,000 years, even if all emissions were to cease immediately. This research fundamentally altered how policymakers and the public understand the urgency of climate action.
Solomon's more recent work has focused on the regional impacts of climate change, particularly drought and water scarcity. Her 2025 study in Nature Climate Change identified the Mediterranean basin, parts of Australia, and the southwestern United States as regions facing the most severe and irreversible drying trends in the coming decades. 'We are not just talking about future generations anymore,' Solomon said in a 2025 interview. 'The consequences of past emissions are already locked in for many regions, and adaptation must become a central part of our response.' This pragmatic, evidence-based approach has made her a trusted voice among both scientists and policymakers.
A career of recognition and continued relevance
The Tang Prize is the latest in a long line of honors for Solomon, who has previously received the National Medal of Science, the Crafoord Prize in Geosciences, and the Volvo Environment Prize. Born in Chicago in 1956, she earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from the Illinois Institute of Technology and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. She spent nearly three decades at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) before joining MIT in 2011, where she continues to teach and conduct research.
Solomon's influence extends beyond her own research output. She has mentored dozens of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, many of whom have gone on to become leaders in atmospheric science and climate policy. Her 2024 memoir, 'Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again,' became a bestseller and has been translated into 15 languages, inspiring a new generation of environmental scientists. In the book, she argues that the success of the Montreal Protocol offers a hopeful template for addressing climate change—if nations can summon the same level of coordinated, science-based action.
Global implications and the path forward
Solomon's Tang Prize recognition comes at a moment when the world is grappling with the intertwined crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The award serves as a powerful reminder that environmental challenges, however daunting, can be overcome through scientific rigor, international cooperation, and sustained political will. The Montreal Protocol's success story, built on the foundation Solomon helped establish, demonstrates that multilateral environmental agreements can deliver tangible, measurable results.
For developing nations and emerging economies, Solomon's work carries particular significance. Many of these countries are disproportionately vulnerable to climate impacts while having contributed least to historical emissions. The principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities' that underpinned the Montreal Protocol—and later the Paris Agreement—owes much to the scientific clarity that researchers like Solomon brought to the negotiating table. Her emphasis on the long-term, irreversible nature of climate change has strengthened the moral case for developed nations to support adaptation efforts in the Global South.
The Tang Prize legacy and sustainable development
The Tang Prize in Sustainable Development has previously been awarded to figures such as Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Norwegian prime minister who chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development, and James Hansen, the NASA scientist who brought climate change to public attention in the 1980s. Solomon's selection continues this tradition of honoring individuals who have bridged the gap between scientific discovery and societal transformation.
The award ceremony is scheduled for September 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan, where Solomon will deliver the Tang Prize lecture. The foundation noted that her work 'exemplifies the spirit of sustainable development by demonstrating that human ingenuity, when guided by rigorous science and ethical commitment, can solve even the most complex environmental challenges.' For a world facing an uncertain climate future, Susan Solomon's legacy offers both a warning about the consequences of inaction and a testament to the power of evidence-based problem-solving.
Science as a beacon of hope in uncertain times
As the 2026 Tang Prize laureate, Susan Solomon joins an elite group of thinkers and doers who have reshaped humanity's relationship with the natural world. Her career trajectory—from a young chemist braving Antarctic winters to an elder stateswoman of climate science—mirrors the evolution of environmental awareness over the past four decades. The ozone crisis that first brought her to prominence has largely faded from headlines, replaced by the more complex challenge of climate change, but the lessons she helped teach the world remain urgently relevant.
In an era of climate anxiety and political polarization, Solomon's story is a reminder that progress is possible. The ozone layer is healing. CFCs have been almost entirely eliminated. Millions of cases of skin cancer have been prevented. These are not hypothetical future benefits but measurable, present-day realities—the direct result of scientific research translated into policy action. As Solomon herself has often said, 'The Earth is not doomed. It is waiting for us to make the right choices.' The 2026 Tang Prize celebrates not just a remarkable scientist, but the enduring power of those choices.
