Hill Heat

As communities advance legal and legislative efforts to make Big Oil companies pay for climate damages, the fossil fuel industry is pulling every lever to escape accountability: lobbying Congress and state legislatures for broad legal immunity, attacking climate science and judicial education projects, and urging the U.S. Supreme Court to stop state and local climate deception lawsuits against oil majors before they can reach trial.

On the eve of the U.S. Supreme Court arguments, join a panel of climate accountability leaders to learn about these brazen efforts and how communities are fighting to protect their right to hold Big Oil accountable.

​This event will be moderated by Emily Atkin, Editor-in-chief at HEATED. Speakers include Former Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, Tennessee Representative Justin Jones, and Dr. Pallavi Phartiyal of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

​This event is co-hosted by the Center for Climate Integrity and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Co-sponsors include: Climate Defenders, Fossil Free for Health, Fossil Free Media, GreenFaith, Law Students for Climate Accountability, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Third Act, and Third Act New Jersey.

09/22/2026 at 01:00PM

A summit at Climate Week NYC showcasing clean energy leaders doing the work in rural America.

Anchored by Canary Media’s flagship reporting series on rural America, this event puts a spotlight on the communities that too rarely make the headlines.

The day features main stage conversations with Canary journalists, expert panelists, and partners, alongside breakout sessions and workshops diving deeper into the topics shaping clean energy’s next chapter.

Space is limited. Please join the waitlist and we’ll notify you when a spot opens up.

A reception rounds out the day, giving attendees space to connect with the clean energy leaders who are doing the work.

Lineup:

• Tim Pawlenty, President & CEO, SEIA, former Republican Governor, Minnesota
• Jay Inslee, Former Democratic Governor, Washington
• Heather O’Neill, President & CEO, Advanced Energy United
• W. Mondale Robinson, Mayor of Enfield, North Carolina
• Suzanne Singer, Founder and Executive Director, Native Renewables
• Ben Gerber, President & CEO, CleanCounts
• Matt Traldi, CEO & Co-founder, Greenlight America, co-founder, Indivisible
• David Roberts, Founder, Volts.wtf
• Leah Qusba, CEO, GoodPower
• Sarah Hunt, CEO & President, Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy
• Scott Jennings, Senior Political Contributor, CNN, former George W. Bush administration official
• Michelle Moore, CEO, Groundswell
• Jacob I. Hannah, CEO, Coalfield Development Corp.
• Abre’ Conner, Director of the Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, NAACP
• Scott Laeser, Senior Working Lands Advisor, Rural Climate Partnership
• Robert Blake, Executive Director, Native Sun Community Power Development
• Jordan Macknick, Distinguished Member of Research Staff, National Laboratory of the Rockies
• Julia Tilton, Reporter, Daily Yonder
• Julian Spector, Senior Reporter, Canary Media
• Dr. Daniel Howard, Founder & CEO, Quantum Energy

Sponsors:

• Presenting: Advanced Energy United, CleanCounts, GoodPower, Invest in Our Future, MacArthur Foundation
• Signature: Rural Climate Partnership
• Supporting: McKnight Foundation, Outrider Foundation, SEIA

Civic Hall
124 East 14th Street
New York, NY

09/22/2026 at 12:00PM

This panel discussion event will focus climate communication pathways to action.

On behalf of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media (PCSSM) at the University of Pennsylvania and SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education at the University of Colorado Boulder, we are excited to invite you to our NYC Climate Week event, “Breaking the Ice Before it Melts: Effective Climate Communication.” This panel discussion event will focus climate communication pathways to action. Our panel will feature Bill Nye (The Science Guy), Chuck Nice (cohost of “Star Talk” with Neil DeGrasse Tyson), and Asher Jay (National Geographic Explorer), and moderated by climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann (Presidential Distinguished, Director of PCSSM). The panelists will share their experience and expertise about their work as science communicators.

Speakers:

• Bill Nye
• Chuck Nice
• Asher Jay

Moderator

• Dr. Michael Mann

The discussion will be followed by a networking hour with drinks and light fare.

Time: 12 – 2 p.m.

Location: Penn Club of New York, 30 W. 44th St., New York, NY 10036

RSVP

Please note that this event is currently invitation-only. To request an invitation for a colleague, please reach out to Heather Kostick at [email protected].

09/22/2026 at 12:00PM

Once known for co-founding the Climate Pledge, Amazon is now investing in a massive fracked gas plant that would become the largest single source of climate pollution in the country. Join Bill McKibben, former tech worker Holly Alpine, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice worker Kavita Sthanumurthy, and Frontline Data Center Fighters to hear about the role Amazon is playing in the massive buildout of fossil-fueled AI data centers.

More information

11:30am

Corner of 5th Ave & 39th St near Amazon’s Office JFK27

RSVP with Third Act

09/22/2026 at 11:30AM

America’s energy landscape is changing rapidly as rising electricity demand, new technologies and growing infrastructure needs collide with debates over affordability, reliability and climate. Federal, state and local leaders are navigating how to meet those challenges while supporting economic growth and determining the role government should play in America’s evolving energy mix.

Join Axios House at Climate Week for an event on the policy decisions shaping America’s energy future. We’ll convene political and policy leaders to discuss the evolving politics of energy and climate, the balance between economic and environmental priorities, and what the next era of American energy policy could look like.

One-on-one conversations with:

• Jarrod Agen, Executive Director, National Energy Dominance Council, Assistant to the President
• Mike Levin, Representative, California’s 49th Congressional District (D)
• JB Straud, Founder and CEO, Redwood Materials

11:00am | Doors open

11:30am | Mainstage conversations

12:30pm | Event ends

GH on the Park
54 W. 40th St
New York, NY 10018

RSVP

09/22/2026 at 11:00AM

Please join Jane Fonda and the Community Clean Energy Coalition for a brunch on the Lower East Side!

Location Provided Upon RSVP.

Commissioner Peter Hubbards and Shelia Edwards are running for the Georgia Public Service Commission to deliver lower costs, affordable energy, and forward-thinking leadership that holds utility companies accountable!

With the urgent need to secure Georgia’s energy independence and protect our wallets, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves.

Contributions/tickets from $500 to $16800.

09/22/2026 at 10:00AM

A Main Stage session.

Climate disasters, a fractured geopolitical world, and surging power demand are creating the perfect storm for the global economy. How can Washington and international leaders weather the storm?

Speakers:

• Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
• David Crane, CEO, Generate Capital
• Anne Kelly, VP, Government Relations, Ceres

North Javits Center, New York City

Register

09/22/2026 at 09:30AM

As climate-fueled disasters become more frequent and severe, homeowners, renters, and businesses are seeing insurance premiums soar—or losing coverage altogether. While the insurance industry increasingly blames climate risk, communities are left paying the price, even as the fossil fuel companies driving the crisis continue to profit.

​This panel will bring together advocates, policy experts, and public officials to examine the growing climate insurance crisis through the lens of affordability, accountability, and state leadership. Using emerging state actions—including groundbreaking legal efforts by attorneys general—as a jumping-off point, panelists will explore how policymakers can protect consumers, hold polluters accountable for escalating climate costs, and build a more resilient insurance system.

​Admittance available on a first come, first serve basis.

​Panelists:

​Elyse Schupak, Policy Advocate at Public Citizen

​Elyse Schupak is a policy advocate with Public Citizen’s Climate Program, working at the intersection of financial regulation and climate change. Prior to joining Public Citizen, Elyse worked on economic policy and climate issues for former U.S. Congressman Mondaire Jones, and on various political campaigns. Elyse started her career on a fixed income portfolio management team at BlackRock. She holds a master’s degree in International Political Economy from The London School of Economics and an undergraduate degree in Finance from Emory University.

​Frances Sawyer, Founder and Principal at Pleiades Strategy

​Frances Sawyer leads Pleiades Strategy where she advises mission-oriented organizations on strategic planning, policy research and design, and program management. Sawyer formerly served as policy advisor to investor and philanthropist Tom Steyer and as Deputy Director of External Affairs to CA Governor Jerry Brown. In both roles, she focused on partnership development, storytelling, and intersectional policy design. At home at the intersection of big ideas and operational strategy, she has also served as chief of staff to the Internet Archive and the healthcare start-up, Detect. Sawyer earned her masters at the Yale School of the Environment. Her favorite hobby is picnicking.

​Chris Kocher, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Extreme Weather Survivors

​Chris Kocher is the co-founder and co-executive director of Extreme Weather Survivors (EWS), and is an expert in building national survivor networks and trauma-informed advocacy programs. In 2020, he launched COVID Survivors for Change, where he co-created a national remembrance event that placed 20,000 empty chairs outside the White House lawn, provided thousands of hours of free grief support for those most impacted, and helped pass baby bonds legislation in California. Previously, he served as the founding director of the survivor network at Everytown and Moms Demand Action, where he connected and supported hundreds of families through grief and advocacy. Chris is an attorney and a first-generation college graduate of Cornell University and Duke Law School.

140 W 62nd St
New York, NY 10023, USA

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An event of the State and Local Climate Policy Symposium.

09/22/2026 at 09:00AM

Yale @ Climate Week NYC 2026 will take place on Tuesday, September 22, from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

Agenda

​8:00 AM - 9:00 AM BREAKFAST & REGISTRATION

​The Yale Club of NYC. Register on the 18th floor; events will also take place at the Rooftop level.

​9:00 AM - 10:30 AM MORNING SESSION I

​Trumbull: From Risk Awareness to Real-World Action: Aligning Climate Adaptation Policy with Public Demand.

This panel will convene leaders from the OECD, Intact Financial Corporation, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC), and partners to introduce the IMPACT Survey (Individuals’ Preferences for Measures and Policies to Adapt to Climate Threats)—a forthcoming 2027 international study on public demand for climate adaptation that will inform national adaptation plans in the run-up to COP32 next year.

Moderator:

• Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, JoshAni-TomKat Professor, Yale School of the Environment & Director, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

Panelists

• Ravi Mahabir, Vice President of Climate, Intact Financial Corporation
• Dr. Jennifer Carman, Director of Survey Strategy, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
• Catherine Gamper, Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Lead, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Jagan Chapagain, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General, International Federation of Red Cross (IRFC)
• Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, Director, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Environment Directorate

​Rooftop: Resilient Cities, Reimagining Health: Practical Decision-Support Tools to Scale Preventative Action in Cities

​10:50 AM - 12:10 PM MORNING SESSION II

​Trumbull Room: Beyond GDP in Practice: Wealth Accounts for Sustainability, Competitiveness, and Climate [More Info]

Panel:

• Matthew Agarwala, Bennett Chair of Sustainable Finance, Bennett Institute for Innovation & Policy Acceleration, University of Sussex
• Eli Fenichel, Knobloch Family Professor of Natural Resource Economics, Yale School of the Environment
• Valerie Hickey, Director, Environment Department, World Bank Group
• Brian Kernohan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Manulife Investment Management
• Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
• Leonard Nakamura, Emeritus Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
• Jed Sundwall, Executive Director, Radiant Earth

Moderator:

• Angel Hsu, Associate Professor of Public Policy and the Environment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Director of the Data-Driven EnviroLab

​Rooftop: Cities on the Front Line: Leadership, Design, and Data in the Climate Era

Panel:

• Omoyemi Akerele, 2025 Yale Climate Fellow, Founder and CEO, Lagos Fashion Week and Style House Files
• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, 2026 Yale World Fellow & Founder, LANDPROCESS, the Porous City Network
• Roy Yu-Ta Lin, 2026 Yale World Fellow & Head of Urban Informatics, City Science Lab @ Taipei Tech (MIT–NTUT)

Moderator:

• Yuval Ben-David, Chief Strategy Officer, Yale International Leadership Center

​Lunch will be provided between the morning and afternoon sessions.

​12:30 PM - 1:50 PM AFTERNOON SESSION I

​Saybrook Room: The Ripple Effect: Institutional Decarbonization as Regional Catalyst

​Trumbull Room: Healthy Planet, Healthy Minds and Brains: Science for Resilient Cities and Communities

​Rooftop: Co-Drivers for the Implementation and Scaling of Climate Solutions

​2:10 PM - 3:30 PM AFTERNOON SESSION II

​Saybrook Room: Toxic Intersections of Migration Law and Climate Policy

Panel:

• Ahmed Gaya, Founder and Director of the Climate Justice Collaborative at the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA)
• Maya Prabhu, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor Adjunct of Law at Yale University
• Rania Sharshr, Director of Climate Action at the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• Maria Cristina Rulli, Professor of Hydrology and Water and Food Security at the Politecnico di Milano
• Brianna Castro, Assistant Professor of Urban Sustainability at Yale School of the Environment
• Sinafekesh Girma Wolde, Climate Migration Program Lead and Postdoctoral Associate at Yale Center for Environmental Justice

​Trumbull Room: International Trade and Climate Change: From Challenges to Alignment Opportunity [More Info]

​Rooftop: Carbon Markets and the Green Transition: A Policy Dialogue [More Info]

​3:50 PM - 5:00 PM AFTERNOON SESSION III

​Saybrook Room: Creatures of Change: Multi-Species Urbanism [More Info]

​Trumbull Room: Superpollutants: Levers for Corporate Action [More Info]

​Rooftop: The Electric Grid: Challenges and Opportunities [More Info]

Panel:

• Joshua Macey, Professor of Law, Yale Law School
• Maria Martinez, Director of Strategy, CleanEcon (MEM ‘19)
• Katie Dykes, Former Commissioner of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Yale Law School ‘06
• Harshit Agrawal, Venture Investor, Connecticut Innovations, YSE/YSM ‘26

​Council Room: Strategies that Optimize for Climate Risk Realities: Case Studies in Banking and Insurance [More Info]

Speaker

• Perry Beaumont, PhD, Senior Program Manager at Amazon, Lecturer at Columbia University and Yale

​6:00 PM - 7:30 PM EVENING SESSION I

​Rooftop: Looking Ahead: A Bipartisan Path Forward

The conversation is expected to feature a core group of lawmakers with longstanding records of bipartisan engagement on policy, alongside distinguished public and private sector leaders, offering attendees a candid look at how cross-partisan leadership can help shape the next chapter of American environmental policy.

Moderator

• Laur Hesse Fisher, Climate and Depolarization Strategy

Panelists TBA.

​7:30 PM - 9:00 PM CLOSING RECEPTION

RSVP

The Yale Club
50 Vanderbilt Ave, New York, NY 10017, USA

09/22/2026 at 08:00AM

On Tuesday, September 22nd, WE ACT is hosting Envisioning the Future of the Environmental Justice Movement, a day-long (8:00 AM-7:30 PM) series of discussions on the future of the environmental justice movement. In commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the First National Environmental Justice Leadership Summit, the historic gathering that established the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice and helped shape the modern environmental justice movement, this special event will celebrate the movement’s accomplishments while bringing together leaders, advocates, researchers, policymakers, students, and community members to chart the path forward.

The event will take place at the Lee C. Bollinger Forum at Columbia University, which is located at 601 West 125th Street (the corner of Broadway & West 125th Street). It is co-hosted by WE ACT for Environmental Justice, the Columbia Climate School, and Beyond Petrochemicals. And it is free to all who register, though we gladly welcome donations. As we expect a high turnout, please only register for what you are certain you will attend.

Schedule

Below is the schedule for the day. Registrants are welcome to check off which sessions they are able to attend if they know so already. This is not binding and is helpful for us to determine the head count of each session.

8:30 AM

Registration, coffee, and light breakfast

9:00 AM

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Morning Sessions

9:45–10:45 AM

Fireside Chat: 35 Years Since the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit

Several leaders of the monument will reflect on the historic First National Environmental Justice Leadership Summit – which was held in October 1991 in Washington, DC – and how it helped shape the movement.

11:00 AM–12:00 PM (concurrent sessions)

-The Role of Environmental Justice Academic Centers

-Community-Based Climate Resilience Solutions

A panel discussion on building climate resilience through policy, on-the-ground practice, and infrastructure investment in environmental justice communities.

12:15–1:15 PM

Lunch

Afternoon Sessions 1:30–2:30 PM (Concurrent Sessions)

-The Path Forward: Climate Policy and Regulations Beyond the Rollbacks

Panelists will chart a proactive agenda for climate action across the federal and New York landscapes, looking beyond the current rollbacks toward durable, ambitious policy.

-Voices Shaping the Next Generation of the Environmental Justice Movement (1:30–3:45 PM Extended Session)

This extended panel discussion puts a new generation of movement leaders in the room to discuss where they see the movement over the coming decade

2:45–3:45 PM

-The Cost of Cutting Corners: Permitting, Public Health & the Future of Environmental Justice

A panel discussion on the need to resist compromise and instead scale-up proven local solutions.

4:00–5:00 PM (Concurrent Sessions)

-Safe, Sustainable, and Affordable Housing

Housing sits at the intersection of health, climate, and economic justice – where a home should be affordable to keep, safe to live in, and built to last. This panel will explore how we deliver housing that meets all three demands at once.

-Data Centers: Lessons from Local Campaigns

This panel will convene experts that are confronting data centers from several regions to discuss the parallels and differences in their experiences and ultimately take away lessons on data center organizing from across the country.

5:30–7:30 PM Closing Reception (Atrium)

The Forum at Columbia University, 601 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027, USA

09/22/2026 at 08:00AM