At Climate Week NYC (September 22-29, 2024), influential leaders from multiple sectors will exchange ideas and collaborate on plans to accelerate climate action. A delegation of Duke University scholars will help drive dialogue at this annual convening, which drew more than 6,500 attendees last year. In addition to organizing three public events, Duke University experts will be facilitating closed-door conversations and networking with decision-makers and with current and potential external partners.

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.

Debt distress, biodiversity loss and climate change are intertwined crises for developing countries. In a Policy Forum for Science, Duke University experts Elizabeth Losos, Alex Pfaff and Stuart Pimm propose four reforms to debt-for-nature swaps to help countries tackle these daunting challenges.

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 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.

The Climate and Sustainability Summer Institute saw DC-area professionals learn from Duke faculty and researchers about climate and sustainability issues. The Nicholas Institute, Duke Continuing Studies, the Office of Climate & Sustainability, and Duke in DC collaborated on the two-week course, and Nicholas Institute experts Brian Murray and Liz Losos each led sessions.

Infrastructure investments in Canada and the United Kingdom are most likely to deliver positive societal, economic, or environmental benefits, according to new research by Economist Impact. The Infrastructure for Good barometer, developed by Economist Impact and supported by Deloitte and Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability benchmarks the capacity of 30 countries to sustainably deliver efficient and quality infrastructure that addresses critical economic, social and environmental needs. 

Motivated, early-to mid-career professionals who are interested in building their knowledge in climate and sustainability are invited to apply by June 1 for a summer institute offered by Duke University in Washington, DC.

G-7 leaders recently launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) to provide much-needed investment toward achieving global development goals. Rather than competing directly with China's Belt and Road Initiative as intended, PGII could instead spur a race to the top in quality infrastructure investments, Elizabeth Losos and T. Robert Fetter write for The Brookings Institution's Future Development blog.

This summer, the G-7 launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment to mobilize $600 billion for middle- and low-income countries in infrastructure investments. In an interview with BRINK, Elizabeth Losos discussed how PGII can successfully serve as a counterweight to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Elizabeth Losos talked with Spectrum News 1's Capitol Tonight show about what the federal government can do to reduce greenhouse gases and help communities prepare so they can be more resilient in the face of climate change.

Elizabeth Losos commented on the Biden administration awarding more than $1 billion in infrastructure funding to help make U.S. communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events.