Are you a Duke University alum with plans (or potential plans) to attend Climate Week NYC (September 22-29) or the UNFCCC’s Conference of Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan (November 11-22)? Duke University experts will again take part in these important convenings alongside climate thought leaders and decision-makers from across the world—and we are eager to connect with Duke alumni who will also be joining.

Duke experts Elizabeth Losos, Alex Pfaff and Stuart Pimm argue in an op-ed for Foreign Policy that improved debt-for-nature swaps on a substantial scale will help break the downward cycle created by the interlinked debt, climate and biodiversity crises. Smart debt relief will reduce climate change effects and increase economic growth, particularly in the Global South, they write.

Some of the United States' premiere environmental laws of the 1970s—such as the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act—need to be reformed to more quickly meet today's environmental goals. Jackson Ewing, director of energy and climate policy at the Nicholas Institute, told Newsweek the U.S. must adopt policies that allow for different permitting processes or accelerated approval for renewable energy and infrastructure projects before beginning construction.

At the latest Duke University Climate Collaboration Symposium, experts exchanged ideas about accelerating sustainable infrastructure development. Panelists at a March 21 event discussed the need for a new sustainability and resilience mindset to future-proof infrastructure from climate change's impacts and shifting societal expectations.

World leaders—along with government officials, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and activists—gathered in Dubai for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss ways to advance climate action. Experts from the Nicholas Institute attended the conference, released publications or announced initiatives tied to it and/or followed the proceedings closely.

The Infrastructure Sustainability Learning (ISLe) Initiative aims to accelerate the development of climate-smart infrastructure through virtual knowledge exchange and problem-solving among infrastructure practitioners and experts.

Toddi Steelman, Duke’s vice president and vice provost for climate and sustainability, will travel to Singapore and China from Nov. 6–18 to meet with Duke partners to discuss climate and sustainability efforts. Duke representatives joining Steelman for the Duke International Forum on Nov. 17 include Nicholas Institute experts Brian Murray, Jackson Ewing, Jonathan Phillips and Elizabeth Losos.

The G7's Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment aims to build quality, sustainable infrastructure in developing countries in competition with China's Belt and Road Initiative. Elizabeth Losos, executive in residence at the Nicholas Institute, talked with Voice of America about tools that the United States can utilize to mobilize private sector investment to meet its $200 billion pledge for the program.

The new Office of Climate and Sustainability brings together several of Duke University's climate, energy, and environmental assets—including the Nicholas Institute—to help advance the mission of the Duke Climate Commitment.

The world is embarking on an unprecedented energy transition to curtail global temperature rise and its impacts, but infrastructure based on renewable sources of energy is not without its own environmental and social challenges. In a blog post for Economist Impact, Elizabeth Losos (Nicholas Institute) and Motoko Aizawa (DC Commission on Human Rights) explore why we need a new mindset to help countries build infrastructure for good.