Ebtekar was named one of the seven 2006 Champions of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Program as a prominent and "inspirational" environmental leader who has made an impact at policy level in a region of the world. Ebtekar said that she believes the award was a team effort, earned by the scholars and experts that she assembled in her Department of the Environment. She names President Khatami as instrumental in stressing the importance of environmental initiatives. She was also named as one of 50 environmental leaders by "The Guardian" newspaper on January 5, 2008; the only Iranian or Muslim woman in the list.