Achim Steiner heads the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), a UN agency with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a staff of 500 and an annual budget of about $200 million (€134 million). He is one of the highest-ranking environmentalists in the world, and yet in Istanbul, it became apparent that this doesn’t carry much weight in some circles, particularly the global financial elite, who still treat environmental issues as a secondary concern.

Steiner is one of the leaders of a new current in the global environmental movement that is no longer willing to be fobbed off with small-scale conservation projects, green showpiece projects and lip service to sustainability. He wants to rebuild the system, force the perpetrators to discharge their duties and finally see action.

Read more: The Sisyphus from Nairobi by Horand Knaup and Christian Schwägerl (Der Spiegel)