Aspen IDEAS: Climate at ground zero in Miami
Christine Maiden Sharp, 17 May 2022
Over three days, from Monday 9th May to Thursday 12th May, the Aspen Institute together with City of Miami, brought action to climate change discussions at the first Aspen IDEAS: Climate with hundreds of scientists, policymakers, activists and business leaders.
Four substantive themes were addressed on our collective future around the realities of a changing climate.
Resilient Communities
Climate-Smart Money
Clean Power, Bright Future
Earth on Offense
The overarching message was ‘get to work and vastly up the pace and scale’.
“#MiamiBeach has emerged as a leader in showing other coastal communities the way forward through planning, science, and engineering in addressing the challenges posed by sea level rise,” the city’s mayor, Dan Gelber.
“Hosting the conference in South Florida was important, because it’s an area that can’t afford to take a wait-and-see approach. Being here in the Greater Miami area, the setting is the topic. We wanted to create something that was solutions-oriented, very inclusive and participatory. The hope is that people go home feeling activated and energized.” President and CEO Aspen Institute, Dan Porterfield.
At the opening plenary House Speaker, Nancy Pelosie spoke of her visit to Ukraine the previous week, the horror of the war, and its impact on energy transition.
“Is anything worse for the environment than war? People can’t get away with that kind of behavior. And they cannot be financed and doing it by our dependence on fossil fuels.”
Technology featured through out. Solving the riddle of climate change — in many parts of the economy— is no longer a question of developing new technology, speakers and panelists said. Instead, it’s become a question of political and social will. John Doerr, chairman of Kleiner Perkins, presented a ten point plan detailing steps that need to be taken to reach net zero, cutting greenhouse gas emissions close to zero.
Sports was not spared, with NBA CEO, Adam Silver speaking with Tom Farrey, Executive Director of Aspen Project Play, asking what levers does the NBA have?
“We have a platform with enormous reach … me being here is a signal to our fans. Have to be very transparent about what we’re doing. Have to be truthful of its impact and time frame - a lot of small acts, incremental steps”.
Corporate Sustainability Officer’s, Kate Brandt from Google, and Kristen Siemen, General Motors, spoke of the commitment from their corporations to ESG, and accelerating removal of carbon.
“If you build it, we’ll buy it”, Kristen Siemen, GM
Brian Stafford, CEO of Diligent, considered measuring and reporting on targets was at a very early stage for corporates, but this is about to change with scope 3 requirements to report on buyers and suppliers targets in your value chain.
“We had to disclose our targets to Bank of America - required every vendor to measure scope 1 and 2. Scope 3 will have a huge impact. For directors, the single biggest driver is employee engagement and retention.”
Joan Selwyn, Founder of Blue Ocean Barns, spoke of innovative plan to lower methane emission of grain fed cows by introducing seaweed to their diets. In trials, the additive has reduced methane emissions in cows by up to 90%.
”There are 1.8m dairy cattle in California. Introducing seaweed into their feed reduced methane from burping the very first day."
An absolute highlight were the number of young students from high school and University who presented their thoughts and solutions.
The summit finished on a high note with a a song written by Emelio Estefan, a long term and concerned resident of Miami.
To find out more visit the Aspen Institute website here.