The Aspen Institute

From March 6-9, hundreds of leaders and climate innovators will gather with the public in Miami Beach for the second annual Aspen Ideas: Climate event.

Contact: Jon Purves
The Aspen Institute
Jon.Purves@aspeninstitute.org

Veronica Coley
City of Miami Beach
vcoley@miamibeachfl.gov

Miami Beach, FL, February 22, 2023 – The Aspen Institute and City of Miami Beach today published the programming agenda for Aspen Ideas: Climate. From March 6-9, more than 150 speakers will attend with expertise spanning policy making, science, business, technology, art, education, food,  journalism, and more, to elevate climate solutions. A limited number of passes remain on sale, while members of the media are invited to apply for press credentials.

The full programming agenda is available here. 

In addition to mainstage plenary sessions, breakout discussions, announcements, and private roundtables, Aspen Ideas: Climate will feature a tech expo, a climate solutions showcase with entrepreneurs presenting their innovations to the general public, a public arts program, and excursions and tours to points of interest across Miami-Dade. In the evenings, programming from Aspen Ideas: Climate will be wallcast onto the side of the New World Center and visible from Soundscape Park.

From March 3-6, the Future Leaders Climate Summit will gather a diverse group of 250 young leaders from around the world to discuss climate policy, communications, advocacy, and individual action with climate and energy experts. Future Leaders will then stay on to attend Aspen Ideas: Climate. 

The Climate Energy and Career Fair is a free public event where students and professionals will connect with leading companies and organizations who are at the forefront of tackling the biggest challenges of our time. They will meet with recruiters, learn about cutting-edge technology, and network with industry leaders and fellow professionals. Meanwhile, the Climate Innovation and Technology Expo will provide an exclusive stage for invited startups, public and private companies to showcase real climate action solutions through their technology-based projects. These are open to the public and will take place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Hall B on March 7-8 from 9am-2pm.

Programming on stage will address five critical themes, including a dive into the decarbonized future of energy; how we can deploy nature-based solutions and technological innovations to fortify Earth’s ecosystems; solutions driven from within the communities closest to the impacts of the climate crisis; designing a climate-resilient future; and approaches to financing climate action around the world.

Below are some highlights from the programming currently scheduled (view the agenda online for specific timings and updates):

Monday, March 6 (from 5:30pm onwards)

• City of Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and Aspen Institute President and CEO Dan Porterfield welcome attendees to the second annual Aspen Ideas: Climate.
• John Curtis, U.S. Representative of Utah’s 3rd District and lead of the Conservative Climate Caucus, and Dominion Energy CEO Diane Leopold, speak to ClearPath CEO Richard Powell on breaking through congressional gridlock to advance climate policy.
• In a spark talk, renowned rock climber and climate advocate Tommy Caldwell explains how athletes can also be climate activists.
• Galvanize Climate Solutions co-chair Tom Steyer speaks to CNBC’s Matt Rossoff on investing in the climate transition
• Chemist and Stanford University Professor Joe DeSimone gives a presentation on the exciting future of 3D printing at scale to reduce waste and drive global sustainability.

Tuesday, March 7

• The Editors-in-Chief of the Washington Post and the Guardian, Sally Buzbee and Katharine Viner, speak to Kathryn Murdoch on how their newsrooms are pioneering the future of climate coverage.
• Coastal Culinary Academy founder and chef Barton Seaver interviews U.S. Representative for Maine’s 1st District Chellie Pingree and Sodexo Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Director Kate Shearer on food systems that are good for people and the planet.
• Environmental justice activist Catherine Coleman Flowers, Bezos Earth Fund CEO Andrew Steer, and Natural Resources Defense Council President and CEO Manish Bapna explore the unprecedented collaboration and coordination needed to solve climate change.
• The US recently made the most significant investment ever in climate change. The White House “Climate Czar,” Ali Zaidi, explains how this legislation is already improving lives.
• If we can redirect asteroids and cure disease, can we solve climate change? Iconic science educator Bill Nye explains the power of science, in conversation with WPLG Local 10 News Anchor Louis Aguirre.
• At the Climate Solutions Showcase, Verizon makes a special announcement, then early-stage entrepreneurs pitch their climate solutions to the audience in fast-paced presentations.

Wednesday, March 8

• Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Darci Vetter, Global Head of Policy and Government Relations at The Nature Conservancy, discuss agriculture’s role in the climate fight.
• Colombia has surpassed its goal to protect 30% of its lands and sea. The nation’s former President, Ivan Duque, speaks with Noticias Telemundo anchor Vanessa Hauc on the future of the Amazon, and how international cooperation helps biodiversity-rich countries meet critical conservation goals.
• SUNY Chancellor and former Secretary of Education John King speaks to Aspen Institute President and CEO Dan Porterfield on turning education into a force for climate action.
• Ok, doomer: young climate activists are flipping the script on climate doom-and-gloom. Teen Vogue Politics Director Allegra Kirkland speaks with Isaias Hernandez, Kristy Drutman, and Alaina Wood.
• What are the economic realities of shifting from fossil fuels? CNBC’s Diana Olick leads a conversation with Engine No.1 founder Chris James and Goldman Sachs’ Global Head of Climate Strategy Kara Mangone.
• Religious leaders on broadening the climate movement: Simran Jeet Singh, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society program, speaks to Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith, Jennie Rosenn, founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Principal of Green Squash Consulting, and Kaitlin Curtice, author, poet, storyteller, and public speaker.

Thursday, March 9

• New York Times columnist and self-proclaimed climate skeptic Bret Stephens was persuaded by oceanographer John Englander to witness the effects of glacial melting. They discuss the impact of their journey to Greenland with Susan Goldberg, President and CEO of the WGBH Educational Foundation and former journalist. 
• Slowing the alarming rate of species extinction will require a mix of good science and good policy, as the Assistant Secretary for Ocean, Environment and Science at the State Dept., Monica Medina, and ecologist and conservationist Gerardo Cebellos explain in conversation with TIME’s Justin Worland.
• With a dramatic change in our global energy system underway, how will the complex geopolitics of decarbonization complicate the path to net zero? Jason Bordoff, co-founding Dean of the Columbia Climate School and founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, where he is Professor of Professional Practice, is interviewed by Cipher’s Amy Harder.
• Heat officers are finding ways to cool their cities, while global medical leaders are helping improve health outcomes of vulnerable populations. Hear from Eugenia Kargbo, Chief Heat Officer for Freetown, Sierra Leone, Eleni Myrivil, Chief Heat Officer for Athens, Greece, Cheryl Holder, Professor and the retired Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Community Initiatives at Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University, and Joy Phumaphi, Executive Secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, interviewed by Lola Adedokun, Executive Director of the Aspen Global Innovators Group.
• Sourcing critical minerals, the building blocks of clean energy infrastructure, ethically – hear from Hogan Lovells Partner and Environmental Lawyer Hilary Tompkins, Regeneration CEO Stephen D’Esposito, VP and director of the Center for Critical Minerals Strategy at Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) Abigail Wulf, and Heidi Heitkamp, Director of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and Former US Senator (D-ND).

Excursions and tours will also be offered as part of  Aspen Ideas: Climate, offering event participants the opportunity to explore sustainable initiatives in the Miami-Dade region and access facilities normally inaccessible to the public. Among the planned trips and experiences:

• University of Miami SUSTAIN Laboratory Wind-Wave tank exclusive guided tour of the Alfred C. Gassell, Jr. SUSTAIN Laboratory wind-wave tank which can generate Category 5 hurricane force winds.
• City of Miami Beach Resilience Tour discussing the climate challenges Miami Beach faces every day and highlighting the mitigation and adaptation efforts facilitated by intergovernmental and community collaborations.
• Clean Miami Beach Cleanup hosted by nonprofit Clean Miami Beach.
• FIU Boat Tour exploring Biscayne Bay by water, where experts from the university will discuss the resiliency and importance of protecting this crucial ecosystem.
• Walking Tour of the Underline, a future 10-mile linear park, urban trail and public art destination.
• A Tour of Stiltsville: Then and Now, a tour of the one-of-a-kind maritime community of fishermen, partiers, and squatters living in the flats of Biscayne Bay.

During Aspen Ideas: Climate, the City of Miami Beach and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs will present a series of art commissions, film screenings, and performances highlighting issues related to climate change and sea level rise. The 15 Miami-based artists participating include visual artists Laurencia Strauss, Orlando Estrada, Cornelius Tulloch, Magnus Sodamin, Justin H. Long, Claudio Marcotulli and Michelle Weinberg. The film program will feature video artists Cheryl Maeder, Shireem Rahimi, Sri Prabha, and Coral Morphologic (Colin Foord, and J.D. McKay). The Arts Resilient 305 program will also feature performances by artists Amanda Crider and Liony García and a sound installation by Juraj Kojs. For more information, visit  www.mbartsandculture.org/aspen-ideas-climate-2023. 

Aspen Ideas: Climate is supported by title sponsors John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, RelatedPhilanthropic Foundation and the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation. Additional sponsors include Deloitte, Delta, General Motors, Glottman, GMCVB, Kleyner/Ullis, Lennar, LSN, MFG, Morgan Stanley, Valor, Verizon, Wells Fargo, and Witkoff. 

For media: Journalists interested in attending Aspen Ideas: Climate as covering reporters are invited to apply for press credentials here.

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The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

World-famous Miami Beach welcomes millions of visitors each year to its white, sandy beaches, turquoise waters and vibrant cultural scene. Known for its colorful art deco and MiMo architecture, the 7.2-square-mile island offers some of the finest dining and hotel experiences anywhere along with a beautiful oceanfront promenade that connects South Beach to North Beach. Steps away from the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach is also at the forefront of identifying workable solutions to meet the challenge of sea level rise.