A Canberra convert famous for staring down climate sceptic Nick Minchin on television and founding Earth Hour and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition has been awarded the Australian Geographic Conservationist of the Year.
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Anna Rose, who has called Canberra home for the past two years despite regularly travelling interstate for work, said the award was an honour at a time when political leadership on climate change and environmental causes was lacking.
"It is extremely concerning that our government is considering cutting the current renewable energy target," she said.
"As a matter of principle, we should be increasing our renewable energy target to at least 50 per cent by 2030."
Ms Rose, who is married to former ACT Greens candidate Simon Sheik, said Canberra had deservedly established a reputation as being an environmentally conscious territory surrounded by nature.
"I think Canberra does have a special and unique culture of connecting with the environment as we're so intrinsically linked to it in a bush capital," she said.
"Traditionally, Canberra has had the highest participation in Earth Hour of all capital cities despite the movement starting in Sydney."
Ms Rose became a recognisable figure after co-starring with former Howard government minister Mr Minchin in the ABC documentary I Can Change Your Mind on Climate, which aimed to focus on the root causes and consequences of human-caused climate change.
"Looking back on the documentary and the book, I'm happy it was able to reach millions of Australians with access to reliable information on climate change and experts," she said.
World Wide Fund for Nature Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman congratulated Ms Rose on her award and encouraged others to follow her example.
"As a species, we are living beyond our means with dire consequences for people and wildlife," he said.
"Anna is a fantastic role model for young Australians at a time when we desperately need champions to lead us into a safer and more-sustainable future."
After beginning her environmental work as a 14-year-old in rural NSW, Ms Rose represented young Australians at the United Nations Climate Change talks before founding the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, which now has more than 110,000 members.
"After spending a lot of time in the bush as a child, I realised the environment wasn't something separate to our way of life," she said.
"It's the right thing to do to reduce carbon pollution, preserve our environment and ensure clean air and water for our children."
