Oberlin, Ohio – The featured lineup of top minds in climate change, including some of the most innovative and influential environmental and political thinkers in the world, has been announced for After Fossil Fuels: The Next Economy, the landmark conference that will take place in Oberlin, Ohio, from October 6-8, 2016. Sponsored by Oberlin College and The Oberlin Project, the conference has been organized by David W. Orr, the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics Emeritus at Oberlin College and the founder and visionary behind The Oberlin Project. The gathering will bring together many of the world’s leading thinkers, political figures, economists, investors, philanthropists, business leaders, educators, and public intellectuals to discuss the changes needed to spur a successful transition to a sustainable, resilient, prosperous, and equitable economy driven by safe, renewable energy. Key speakers include:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, 38th Governor of California
Governor Schwarzenegger made California a world leader in renewable energy and combating climate change with the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. He is the founder of The USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, which is committed to advancing post-partisanship to find the best ideas and solutions to benefit the people they serve.
- Bill McKibben, Founder, 350.org
Author and environmentalist McKibben was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the “alternative Nobel,” in 2014. His 1989 book, The End of Nature, is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change and has appeared in 24 languages. He is a founder of 350.org, the first planet-wide, grassroots climate change movement. The Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he was the 2013 winner of the Gandhi Prize and the Thomas Merton Prize and holds honorary degrees from 18 colleges and universities. The Boston Globe has said that he is “probably America’s most important environmentalist.”
- Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism Solutions
Lovins is president and founder of the nonprofit Natural Capitalism Solutions. A renowned author and champion of sustainable development for over 35 years, Lovins has consulted on sustainable agriculture, energy, water, security, and climate policies for scores of governments, communities, and companies worldwide. She is currently a professor of sustainable management at Bard MBA.
- Bill Ritter, 41st Governor of Colorado
Governor Ritter was elected Colorado’s 41st governor in 2006. During his four-year term, Ritter established Colorado as a national and international leader in clean energy by building a new energy economy. After leaving the governor’s office, Ritter founded the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, which works with state and federal policymakers to create clean energy policy throughout the country. Governor Ritter’s book Powering Forward – What Everyone Should Know about America’s Energy Revolution was published earlier this year.
- Juliet Schor, Boston College
Schor is a professor of sociology at Boston College whose research focuses on consumption, time use, environmental sustainability, and the new economy. She is currently co-chair of the board of directors of the Better Future Project, an organization working to end fossil fuel use, and a member of the MacArthur Foundation Connected Learning Research Network.
- Michael Brune, President of the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club’s executive director since 2010, Brune is one of today’s most inspiring and effective environmental leaders. Prior to joining the Sierra Club, Brune led Rainforest Action Network for seven years. Under Brune’s leadership, the Sierra Club has grown to more than two million supporters and is at the forefront of the drive to move beyond fossil fuels to clean energy while also protecting America’s remaining wild places.
- Mindy S. Lubber, Ceres
Lubber is president and a founding board member of Ceres, a nonprofit organization that is mobilizing many of the world’s largest investors and companies to take stronger action on climate change, water scarcity, and other global sustainability challenges. She directs Ceres’ Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a group of 120 institutional investors managing over $14 trillion in assets focused on the business risks and opportunities of climate change. Lubber also oversees engagements with more than 100 companies, many of them Fortune 500 firms, committed to sustainable business practices and the urgency for strong climate and clean energy policies.
- Tom Steyer, NextGen Climate
Steyer is a business leader and philanthropist who believes that we have a moral responsibility to give back and help ensure that every family shares the benefits of economic opportunity, education, and a healthy climate. After founding and running a successful California business, he left to work full time on nonprofit and advocacy efforts. He now serves as president of NextGen Climate, an organization he founded in 2013 to prevent climate disaster and promote prosperity for all Americans.
- Mark Campanale, Carbon Tracker Initiative
Campanale is founder of the Carbon Tracker Initiative, where he is responsible for management strategy, board matters, and developing the capital markets framework analysis. Originator of the “unburnable carbon” capital markets thesis, he commissioned and edited the report “Unburnable Carbon, Are markets Carrying a Carbon Bubble?”
The full list of speakers can be found here.
After Fossil Fuels: The Next Economy will be the first major event to be held in the new Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center and The Hotel at Oberlin, which is on target to become one of the rare LEED Platinum hotels and conference centers in the U.S. The conference is presented by Oberlin College and The Oberlin Project with the following partners:
- The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado
- The American Renewable Energy Institute
- The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
- The Capital Institute
- The Democracy Collaborative
- The Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- The Next System Project
- PostCarbon Institute
- 350.org
- The USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy
Financial support for the conference is provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the George Gund Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, the Lorain County Community Foundation, the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation, and a dozen anonymous donors.
For more information, including the Conference program, registration, and ticket information visit the website, After Fossil Fuels: The Next Economy
http://new.oberlin.edu/events-activities/after-fossil-fuels/
