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As the United States leaves the Paris Agreement, how will the leadership vacuum be filled? Will China continue to surge ahead, tackling air pollution and investing in renewable energy? Will India soon abandon its commitments, favoring coal development over clean air? If choices that individual countries make in regard to their energy mix have planet-wide consequences, does...
Author Paul Hawken shares the remarkable story of how a diverse group of researchers from around the world came together to identify, research, and model the most substantive 100 existing solutions to bring us to drawdown — that moment when greenhouse gas levels peak and begin to drop on a year-to-year basis. He shows the path forward that can roll back global warming with...
Billions of people around the world do not have access to inexpensive and reliable energy that is critical for economic growth. At the same time, the world’s current energy choices lead to pollution that is shortening lives and causing climate change. Finding a way to balance the need for energy with its environmental consequences defines the global energy and climate chal...
Through the scorching heat of the Arabian Desert to the unforgiving chill of the Finnish tundra, BIG partner Kai-Uwe Bergmann explores how design solutions are shaped by cultural and climatic contexts to unlock the immense possibilities of adaptive architecture. With a central challenge of mitigating climatic extremes to be hospitable to human life, solutions can be both e...
As secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres led the global adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. But she was not always so hopeful, and recalls a turning point as she consciously shifted her attitude from despair to stubborn optimism. Jeff Goodell, author of The Water Will Come sits down with Figueres to reve...
Sustainability is the green buzzword of the decade, especially in the context of feeding a growing population while preserving the environment for the next generations. Unfortunately, the debate over how to address the global food challenge has set conventional agriculture and global commerce against local food systems and organic farms. This panel will explore what it mea...
Across the auto industry, a profound shift toward electric vehicles is in motion. The ultimate goal: a full fleet of zero-emissions vehicles worldwide. GM is a major player in this space and has made a serious commitment — $27 billion — toward the transformation, with the aim of introducing 30 new global electric vehicles by 2025. What must a mega-firm like GM do to transi...
Cities are responsible for 70 percent of global carbon emissions, and by 2050, two out of every three people will live in one. Fortunately, cities are getting serious about environmental footprint — New York announced its own Green New Deal, Melbourne aims to be carbon neutral by 2020, and Los Angeles will use 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. Mayors are often more nim...
A clean energy revolution is underway here, and across the globe. And it’s high time, considering electricity and heat are responsible for a staggering one-third of global emissions. Coal plants are shutting down, the costs of solar and wind technologies are rapidly falling, and a recent bipartisan bill looks to reestablish the United States as a leader in nuclear energy....
We’ve been exploring the concept of climate change since 1988. Yet the problem continues to elude traditional solutions. Maybe the problem is it’s not a problem — it’s an emergent planetary force, and we have to build a new relationship to it. Science has made it clear that it’s a two-way relationship. What have we learned over the last 30 years, and what will the next 30...
The health effects of climate change sound a clarion warning that we must attend to a rapidly deteriorating environment. Polluted cities, severe droughts and flooding, and devastating storms are portents of a world in which risks to the health of the planet and the health of families are closely linked. We urgently need visionary and strategic leaders who can identify and...
Protecting wild spaces helps to conserve the species that call them home — and is one of the best strategies for meeting global climate goals. National parks and other protected areas can cultivate a healthy relationship between humans and the land they depend on. How much more land — and ocean — do we need to preserve in order to maintain ecological and social wellness? W...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the latest reminder of the high cost of war, in lives lost and broken, ruined cities, and damaged lands, and also in the shockwaves that ripple through global energy, mineral, and food markets. Worsening climate change will be equally disruptive, with profound effects on peace and security. U.S. Armed Forces have been wrestling with what th...
Does going electric mean buying lithium from Russia and Venezuela? What happens if the United States takes carbon action while competitors don’t? Experts weigh in on the geopolitical implications — and opportunities — of a global transition to cleaner energy.
World order is never in stasis for too long. And indeed, we seem to be witnessing a historic shift now. The relatively stable decades after World War II saw gains for global democracies, rapid economic growth fueled by globalization, and the birth of the Internet. But they also saw the speeding of global warming, widening inequality, and the scourge of transnational terror...
Chevron’s top executive shared that the company “intends to be a leader in advancing a lower carbon future” through investments in renewables, hydrogen, and carbon capture. How do these efforts stand in the context of global climate goals, and what role will fossil fuels play in our future?
Despite the worthy intentions of government and corporate leaders, the Paris Agreement targets of holding global warming to near 1.5°C may not be met, and many organizations say they don’t have plans and data to actually reach climate goals. This session will discuss strategies needed to design a net-zero future. Presented by Deloitte
Meet three disruptive business leaders — all part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network — who drive significant economic value by leveraging emerging technologies to create sustainable, inclusive, and efficient business models in drug delivery, banking, and community-focused finance. Putting values-based leadership first, they address societal needs and drive economic gro...
The impacts of the climate emergency are felt by populations worldwide, and they increasingly shape whether, where, and how people migrate. Mayors, city governments, non-profits, and local businesses are learning to confront the challenges at the intersection of climate change, migration, and displacement—along with the interconnected economic, social, and climatic element...
Energy savings deliver more global energy services than oil. Yet across sectors, like building, mobility, and industry, many major efficiency potentials are often overlooked. Explore the savings — and beauty — of coupling an integrative design approach with the proven order demonstrated in nature. Join biomimicry pioneer Janine Benyus and integrative design leader Amory Lo...