The Road from Paris: A Conversation with the Former Secretary of Energy
Setup
The principal solution to climate change challenges lies with a transformation to an all-of-the-above low carbon energy future. There is no going back. Clean energy technologies have become remarkably competitive in just the last few years. The US is already on a trajectory for meeting our Paris target, with rapid growth in natural gas and renewable power generation and energy efficiency leading the way. Other major economies with comparable or even stronger Paris targets don’t have the same advantages: low cost natural gas, sustained investments in technology, a highly-skilled workforce, a robust national laboratory system and research universities that are second to none. Former Obama Administration Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is bad for science-based decision making, national and energy security, and innovation. However, there is one note of optimism: cities and states and the business community are primed to keep us on course to the low carbon future that we need.
- 2017 Festival
- Environment
Explore More
Environment
At Aspen Ideas: Climate 2024, the world's most ambitious climate problem solvers came together in Miami Beach to address our collective future on this planet. Watch highlights...
Museums are typically testaments to the past, but a growing number are using exhibitions to shape our response to the future—specifically to climate change. Museum leaders wil...
Coastal cities are utilizing innovative solutions to adapt to extreme weather and rising sea levels, becoming more resilient in the face of climate change. From innovative des...
Storytelling, music, animation, and podcasts! Watch the magic of innovative content being born as creatives pitch their ideas to a panel of Planet Media judges, each hoping to...
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-profi...
Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist and Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy. Ahead of Aspen Ideas: Climate next week, we caught up with Dr. Hayhoe to discuss t...
How is constitutional law being harnessed to address climate change? Ahead of Aspen Ideas: Climate, we caught up with Andrea Rodgers, Senior Attorney at Our Children's Trust,...
Rose Kirk is the Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer for Verizon. We caught up with her about tech-based climate solutions and why digital skills and connectivity ar...
At Aspen Ideas: Climate 2023, we dug into some of the biggest environmental issues of our time, from sea level rise and deforestation to food insecurity and energy policy, and...
Your first look at the leaders, innovators, policymakers, and luminaries joining us for Aspen Ideas: Climate 2024. Don't wait to hear from these extraordinary speakers — early...
Climate change catastrophes are already happening with increasing regularity, and it’s clear we need to take action. The Biden administration has set a target of zero carbon e...
The automotive industry is going through a time of profound transformation, facing internal and external pressure to electrify America’s fleet of personal vehicles. General Mo...
Worldwide, 10 cities have named Chief Heat Officers to address the growing threat of extreme heat. Marta Segura is leading the way in Los Angeles by connecting equity, health,...
At the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival, we dug into some of the most important and fascinating issues of our time, from rebuilding trust in our institutions and the promise and peri...
How fast can the world really move off hydrocarbons, and are we underestimating deep macroeconomic analyses of the energy transition in our policymaking? Two financiers delve...
Changes are coming to the world’s biggest ridesharing service, like sustainability features, a more efficient food delivery system, efforts to improve the driver experience, a...
We don’t always know how to express it, but many of us feel it: There’s something wrong with America today. The mood is tense. More Americans say they won’t have children beca...
An advanced nuclear power plant is coming to Wyoming. Funded by Bill Gates’ TerraPower, it will use cutting edge technology that aims to provide safer and more sustainable nuc...
The Colorado River Compact is 100 years old, and its guidelines for water use across the American West are about to expire. Facing drought, increased population, and disagreem...
How are business leaders navigating rising expectations from employees, investors, customers, and communities in a fractured political environment, while progressing on the lo...
