Future Leaders Climate Summit 2020

About the Summit

Why you should attend

The inaugural Future Leaders Climate Summit 2020 will gather ~100 young leaders (ages 18-30) from around the U.S. for three days to discuss climate policy, communications, advocacy, and individual action with climate and energy experts. By bringing together future leaders from diverse backgrounds with a variety of perspectives, this Summit aims to generate new ideas and solutions to today's climate crisis. The Summit aims to empower these leaders that will be shaping and driving our response to the climate crisis by:

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1. giving them the tools to create even greater change in their communities and beyond and 

2. creating a robust network of climate leaders who will be able to work together in facing the greatest crisis of our time - the climate crisis.

Through interactive workshops, plenary panel discussions, and site visits, the Future Leaders will work to develop innovative ideas and recommendations to solve challenges: from mitigating the causes of climate change to preparing for and adapting to climate impacts and a rapidly changing world that will include more political unrest, migration, and conflict starting in their own backyards.

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Workshops during the summit will give participants the tools to effectively push for change in their communities and the communication skills to connect climate change with the lives of everyday Americans. At the end of the Summit Future Leaders will make pledges during the Summit to complete an advocacy, education, direct action, or policy project in their community.  

We hope that you will consider applying to join us for this monumental inaugural gathering.

Summit Hosts

The Aspen Institute & University of Chicago

Future Leaders Climate Summit  2020  is hosted by the Aspen Institute's  Energy and Environment Program and Public Programs in partnership with the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. 

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. 

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The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program challenges thought leaders to test and shape energy, conservation, and environmental policies, governance systems, and institutions that support the wellbeing of both nature and society. The Program’s forums and dialogues are designed to cultivate leadership and develop collective solutions based on the ideal that both humankind and the natural world have intrinsic value. Like the Aspen Institute as a whole, the Energy and Environment Program seeks to inspire and explore new ideas that provoke action in the world.

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The Aspen Institute Public Programs division aims to shine a light on the work that the Aspen Institute does as well as celebrate the diverse ideas of individuals globally who address the most serious issues of the day.  Its mission is to “educate, foster civil dialogue, and inspire innovative thinking” by way of convenings for public audiences large and small throughout the US and beyond.  The Aspen Ideas Festival, CityLab, and Global Inclusive Growth Summit exemplify this work. 

For more than three decades, the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy has been driven by the belief that evidence-based research, not ideology or intuition, is the best guide for public policy. At a time when trust in public institutions is fragile, Harris is leading the way to smarter decision making and better policymaking, training a new generation of leaders who are driven to change the world and know that making a social impact requires fresh thinking and different approaches.