Why I’m Optimistic About the Climate Challenge Before Us
Momentum for action is building around the world
In the last few weeks, I’ve felt inspired and hopeful about the growing momentum in global climate action. Even though I recently wrote about being daunted by the challenge before us, after attending many events leading up to and after Earth Week where experts and representatives from around the world spoke about the climate crisis, I am now back to being optimistic.
While there were too many events in the past few weeks for me to attend them all, I made it to a fair number of meetings, including the Climate and Energy Funders Group gathering, WRI’s Global Leadership Council meeting, an Ocean-Based Solutions meeting hosted by United Nations Foundation and Ocean Conservancy, and the Nobel Prize Our Planet, Our Future Summit. There, I listened to a range of speakers including Presidents of Island Nations, students, and more well-known speakers like John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate; Gina McCarthy, the White House National Climate Advisor; Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; Andrew Steer, former President of World Resources Institute and new CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund; and Sandrine Dixson-Declѐve, Co-President of the Club of Rome.
