Marjan Minnesma, a Dutch activist and founder of Urgenda, died on May 22, 2026, at age 59 after breast cancer.
Born on October 28, 1966, in Wormerveer, Netherlands, she was raised in Amsterdam. Minnesma held a degree in international law on climate change and in 2022 received the Goldman Environmental Prize for suing the Dutch government over its carbon emissions plans.
She won the lawsuit, becoming the first woman to successfully sue a government over carbon emissions.
Marjan Minnesma, 59, Dutch activist, founder of Urgenda, breast cancer.