The Kreiser Award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of economic instruments in environmental policy or to the field of environmental taxation. The award is named after Professor Emeritus Larry Kreiser of Cleveland State University in Ohio. His vision led to the creation of the Global Conference on Environmental Taxation: a forum that brings together experts from different disciplines and countries to foster exchange between academic research and practical experience in environmental policy. The recipient is selected each year by the chairs of that year’s conference.
At the twenty-seventh Global Conference on Environmental Taxation,
the Kreiser Award will be presented to Dr. Peter Liese.
A physician by training, Peter Liese has served continuously as a Member of the European Parliament since 1994, making him one of its longest-serving members. For more than three decades, he has dedicated himself to European environmental and climate policy. He serves on the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety and the Committee on Public Health and coordinates the work of the European People’s Party Group on environmental and climate matters.
Above all, the award recognizes Peter Liese’s tireless and unwavering commitment to the European Union Emissions Trading System. He has been a driving force behind its development into one of the world’s largest and most influential market-based instruments for climate policy. His contribution extends far beyond legislative negotiations and public debate. Advancing emissions trading has required an extraordinary and sustained effort to persuade, build trust, and find common ground—among political allies as well as political opponents. Peter Liese has carried out much of this essential work patiently and persistently, often away from the public eye.
The conference chairs are therefore delighted to honor Dr. Peter Liese for his exceptional dedication to European emissions trading, his pivotal role in shaping carbon-pricing legislation, and his lifelong commitment to effective, fair, and evidence-based climate policy. His ability to combine ambitious environmental goals with political and economic realities has made a lasting contribution to climate policy in Europe and beyond.
The award will be presented to Dr. Liese during the optional evening programme of the first conference day (see general programme).
Former Recipients of the Award
2006 – Nancy Olewiler
2007 – Ernst von Weizsäcker
2008 – Hope Ashiabor
2009 – Alberto Majocchi
2010 – Rae Kwon Chung
2011 – Eduardo Merigo
2012 – Kathryn Harrison
2013 – Kazuhiro Ueta
2014 – Hans J. Larsen
2015 – Bob Carr
2016 – Hans Vos
2017 – Ethel Branch
2018 – Pedro Herrera Molina
2019 – Paul Ekins
2020 – Susanne Åkerfeldt
2021 – Janet E. Milne
2022 – Aldo Ravazzi Douvan
2023 – Frank Convery
2024 – Cecil Morden
2025 – Cláudia Lima Marques
One of the key objectives of GCET is the promotion of junior contributions and the fostering of state-of-the-art scientific research. Accordingly, any student or researcher younger than 35 years of age (as of 31 May 2026) may be considered for the "GCET27 Young Researcher Award" if their abstract has been accepted and they have registered for the conference.
To indicate that you would like to be considered for the Young Researcher Award, please tick the appropriate box when submitting your abstract.
To be eligible, shortlisted candidates must send proof of age (scanned copy of a government identification) and the full paper to gcet27@pik-potsdam.de no later than August 22, 2026.
This year's award will be presented during the second conference day (see general programme).
