Checking the Climate Policy Pulse: A Panel Discussion

This September, faculty, staff, students and alumni from the Duke community will join thousands of leaders from business, government, and civil society for Climate Week NYC. Billed as “the largest annual climate event of its kind,” Climate Week NYC comprises hundreds of official and unofficial events each year, all geared toward spurring and accelerating climate action at every level of society.

It’s a sprawling, ambitious endeavor. Is its real-world impact equally grand? We’ll convene a panel of Duke leaders, researchers, and students who attended this year’s program to look back on Climate Week NYC 2024 and ahead to upcoming events with big implications for domestic and international climate policy—namely, the U.S. presidential election and the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (better known as COP29), to be held Nov. 11-22 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Some key questions:

• What’s it like to participate in Climate Week NYC?
• Why do institutions engage with the program? What is the value proposition for different types of stakeholders?
• Is the Climate Week NYC structure and approach conducive to making real progress on climate?
• What is Duke’s role in all of this?
• Speaking of “real progress on climate”—how are Climate Week NYC stakeholders preparing for the effects of next month’s election and international climate negotiations at COP29?

Toddi Steelman is vice president and vice provost for climate and sustainability at Duke.

Tim Profeta is a senior fellow at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University and associate professor of the practice at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy.

Vanessa Santini Gomes is a sophomore at Duke studying international relations and economics.

Sadie Tetreault is a second-year master of environmental management and master of business administration candidate concentrating in energy & environment and environmental economics & policy.

Jackson Ewing (moderator) is director of energy and climate policy at the Nicholas Institute of Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University.