Appendix C
Solution Sessions Agenda
April 28, 2021
All times cited in U.S. Eastern Time
On day three of the Nobel Prize Summit, our partners hosted events
that put our discussion themes into practice.1
TRANSFORMATIONAL ECONOMICS: VALUING OUR FUTURE
Hosted by The Club of Rome
8:00–10:00 am EDT
Humanity is now the largest driver of change on Earth. To minimize risk of climate change and biodiversity loss, this next decade must see the fastest economic transformation in history and at a global scale. How does economic thinking accommodate these facts? How do economists make sense of this new responsibility for our planet? Ultimately, if we are to value our future we need to value resilience in societies and in nature. This Solution Session explored new economic thinking that will contribute to building fairer, resilient societies on a resilient planet; introduced the EarthforAll project; and discussed the role of philanthropy in funding the change we need. In two parts, speakers discussed transformational economic thinking and transformational leadership.
Speakers:
Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Co-President, Club of Rome
Johan Rockström, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Andrew Steer, President and CEO, Bezos Earth Fund
Per Espen Stoknes, Director, Centre for Green Growth, Norwegian Business School
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation
Jayati Ghosh, Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Ilona Otto, Professor, Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, University of Graz
Carlota Perez, Honorary Professor, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London
Jennifer Hinton, Researcher, Stockholm Resilience Centre
Leslie Johnston, CEO, Laudes Foundation
Ellen Dorsey, Executive Director, Wallace Global Fund
Felicitas von Peter, Managing Partner, Active Philanthropy
Tom Steinbach, Executive Director, Sea Change Foundation
___________________
1 Videos of all solution sessions are available at https://www.nobelprize.org/our-planet-our-future-day-three.
ROOTS OF CHANGE: EMPATHY AS A COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY
Hosted by DICCE, GenZ Girl Gang, and ProjectLets
9:30–11:30 am EDT
We are in an empathy crisis. In a world defined by political ideology, race, and economic status, there seem to be more that divides us than unites us. And this polarization creates barriers, both for mutual understanding and societal problem-solving. Citigroup estimates that the U.S. economy has lost $16 trillion from racism against African Americans over the past 20 years. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), a measure of well-being, has been stagnant. To move forward, we must acknowledge our collective responsibility in addressing the empathy crisis. In this discussion, we explored the scientific impact of empathy and how we can embed empathy into our science, systems, and individual lives. We heard from leading cognitive behavioral scientists on the sociobiological basis of empathy and from incredible thought leaders and psychologists on how to ground ourselves in revolutionary empathy. In this youth-led session, we explored new ways of measuring social progress and helped explore our own empathy and active listening through some fun speed-friending activities!
Moderators:
Phoebe Omonira, Director of Community Outreach, GenZ Girl Gang
Lyne Odhiambo
Zoë Jenkins, Founder, DICCE
Speakers
Julie Fratantoni, Head of Operations, The BrainHealth Project, Center for BrainHealth, University of Texas at Dallas
Gary A. Hoover, Executive Director of the Murphy Institute and Professor of Economics, Tulane University
OUR PLANET: FROM HUMAN IMPACT TO CLIMATE ACTION AND SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS
Hosted by Embassy of Sweden in the United States
10:00–11:30 am EDT
The human impact on nature is undeniable. The never-ending demand for limited natural resources leaves lasting effects on the environment and risks the loss of biological diversity. With a foundation in science, industry is a vital part of the solution by creating efficient resource utilization aiming to reduce the negative impact on the environment. What does science tell us about the human impact on nature and loss of biodiversity? How can science contribute to industries’ ongoing sustainability efforts? How do companies incorporate science in developing strategies and plans for a smaller environmental footprint? How can science and industry inspire and innovate sustainable solutions? This event addressed these issues with a foundation in the findings from the Nobel Prize Summit and in collaboration with the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.
Speakers:
H. E. Karin Olofsdotter, Ambassador of Sweden to the United States Johan Rockström, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Carl Folke (NAS), Director, Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics and Chair, Stockholm Resilience Centre
Cristian Samper, President and CEO, Wildlife Conservation Society
Emma Nehrenheim, Chief Environmental Officer, Northvolt
Florian Schattenmann, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Innovation and Research and Development, Cargill
Tuula Teeri, President, Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
Gayle Schueller, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, 3M
Theodor Swedjemark, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer, ABB
Heather Johnson, Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson
Lena Hök, Senior Vice President for Sustainability, Skanska Group
Anna Sjöström-Douagi, Program Director, Nobel Prize Summit
THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION
Hosted by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
10:00–11:30 am EDT
This event highlighted the findings and recommendations from the recent National Academies’reportStrengtheningSustainabilityProgramsandCurriculaattheUndergraduate and Graduate Levels (2020) with a focus on the future of sustainability education. The report provides expert insights for strengthening the emerging discipline of sustainability in higher education in the United States. Presentations and facilitated discussion examined the role of universities in achieving the SDGs, digital learning opportunities and student engagement, and the critical need to build a K-12 pipeline to higher education.
Moderators:
Arun Agrawal (NAS), Samuel Trask Dana Professor, School for the Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan
Vaughan Turekian, Executive Director, Policy and Global Affairs, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Speakers:
Marcia McNutt (NAS/NAE), President, National Academy of Sciences
Marilu Hastings, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer, Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Anne Kapuscinski, Director, Coastal Science and Policy Program, University of California, Santa Cruz
Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Ellen Stofan, Under Secretary for Science and Research, Smithsonian Institution
Dan Higgins, Global Technology Consulting Leader, Ernst & Young Global Ltd.
Sajitha Bashir, Adviser, Office of the Global Director, Education Practice, The World Bank
Jeffrey Sachs (NAM), President, Sustainable Development Solutions Network
Zohra Yermeche, Program Director, Connect to Learn, Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson
Sir Richard Roberts, Chief Scientific Officer, New England BioLabs, Inc. (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1993)
STARTUP SOLUTIONS: HOW SOCIAL ENTERPRISES ARE ADDRESSING 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES
Hosted by Halcyon and S&R Foundation
10:00–11:00 am EDT
Startups provide the most nimble, adaptive, and fast-paced business solutions to many of the most pressing 21st century environmental and sustainability challenges. In concert with governments, large industry, and engaged leadership, social enterprises have a critical role to play. This event featured three remarkable social enterprise founders who have integrated both profit and purpose into their business models to maximize their impact. Learn the story behind some of the most innovative social ventures in the world and how these enterprises will help to create a brighter future for humans and our planet.
Moderator:
Joshua Mandell, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Halcyon
Speakers:
Svanika Balasubramanian, CEO, rePurpose Global
Sam Teicher, CEO, Coral Vita
Phil Wong, CEO, Misfit Foods
Sandhya Murali, COO, Solstice
FROM RESULTS IN THE LAB TO RESULTS ON THE GROUND
Hosted by Global Solutions Summit
11:00 am–12:30 pm EDT
How can we ensure that cutting-edge scientific results enhance sustainability and lead to concrete improvements in peoples’ lives? To accomplish these objectives, scientific knowledge has to be embedded in products and organizations that meet three criteria: (1) financial, operational, and environmental sustainability; (2) accessibility to the billions of people at the lower/lowest strata of the income pyramid rather than serving only the economic elites; and (3) deployed at scale to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people in dozens of countries in thousands of communities around the world. The panelists explained that this daunting task is eminently worth pursuing, but it will require some changes to business-as-usual procedures in the scientific community and elsewhere.
Moderator:
Alfred Watkins, Chairman, Global Solutions Summit
Speakers:
Theresa Kotanchek, CEO, Evolved Analytics
Ramesh Mashelkar (NAS/NAE), Former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Former President of Indian National Science Academy
Maurizio Vecchione, Co-Founder of AdAstral and President and CEO of Washington Global Health Alliance
ONLINE DISINFORMATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Hosted by National Academies Committee on Human Rights
11:30–12:30 pm EDT
This fireside chat examined the role of digital disinformation and media manipulation in entrenching societal inequalities, driving polarization, and eroding public trust. The panelists discussed possible human rights-based approaches to countering disinformation online.
Moderator:
Sam Gregory, Program Director, WITNESS
Speakers:
Safiya Noble, Associate Professor, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2)
Kate Starbird, Associate Professor, Human Centered Design & Engineering, University of Washington
SMART CITIES AND NEW GREEN SOLUTIONS
Hosted by Embassy of Italy in the United States
12:00–1:15 pm EDT
Inspired by the motto of the G20 Italian Presidency in 2021, “People, Planet, Prosperity,” and on the triple special occasion of the 160th anniversary of Italy-U.S. diplomatic relations, the Italian co-presidency of COP26, and the Italian Research Day in the World, the Embassy of Italy to the U.S. organizes, in collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences, a high-visibility event on April 28. The theme was Urban Sustainability, with a panel of topnotch experts from both sides of the Atlantic, to discuss the global challenge of developing smart, people-oriented and resilient cities that could improve the long-term health of the planet’s human and ecological systems.
Moderator:
Alexander Kaufman, Huffington Post
Speakers:
Marcia McNutt (NAS/NAE), President, National Academy of Sciences
Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy to the United States
Maria Cristina Messa, Minister of Universities and Research, Italy
Stanley Whittingham (NAE), Director, NorthEast Center for Chemical Energy Storage and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Binghamton University (State University of New York) (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019)
Chris Greer, Senior Executive for Cyber-Physical Systems, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce
Debra Lam, Managing Director for Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation, Institute for People and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology
Carlo Ratti, Director of Senseable City Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Paola Malanotte-Rizzoli, Professor of Physical Oceanography, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A CALL FOR AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON THE INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT
Hosted by PeaceTech Lab
12:00–1:30 pm EDT
In response to the existential threat posed by the proliferation of false information across online and offline media, leadership at PeaceTech Lab proposes the consideration of the formation of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) equivalent—the Intergovernmental Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE)—to analyze the global information environment in order to provide governments with recommendations, based on science, for arriving at objective, transparent standards for a healthy global information environment and the actions needed to achieve it. With expert voices and thought leaders, this panel explored the practicalities and importance of creating an IPIE in our immediate future.
Moderator:
Sheldon Himelfarb, President and CEO, PeaceTech Lab
Speakers:
Vint Cerf (NAS/NAE), Internet Pioneer and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
Phil Howard, Director, Oxford Internet Institute
Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development, Oxford University
Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Prize laureate, journalist and human rights activist
Katherine Maher, Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia
CRITICAL PATHWAY: IMPLEMENTING COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN MODELS FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET
Hosted by The Peace Department
12:00–1:30 pm EDT
This session included as a series of talks shedding light on the challenges we face globally, and the solutions the economic, political, and social sectors can bring to a collaborative effort. Our partners joined us in sharing the roles they play in the global development framework, and from this we focused our discussion on establishing a potential working relationship toward executing the SDG critical pathway: a pathway that includes using sustainably focused research and scientific theory to craft deployable solutions, aligning philanthropic and investment efforts to build new markets, and integrating new local and international policies that seed and cultivate sustainable change. By addressing coordination shortfalls and bringing together experts in global economic systems, carbon emissions research, sustainable climate policy, and international development, the session tackled the challenge and promise of putting innovation and capital to work. Through this panel’s collaborations, we began to bridge the gap between intention and action to accelerate progress on the dual global crises of climate change and systemic inequality.
Speakers:
James Sternlicht, Co-Founder, The Peace Department
Bobby Kia, Co-Founder, The Peace Department
Pierre Ferrari, CEO, Heifer International
Martin Wainstein, Founder and Executive Director, Open Earth Foundation
Zoe Knight, Group Head, Centre for Sustainable Finance, HSBC
William Sonneborn, Senior Director of Technologies and Funds, International Finance Corporation
Aude de Montesquiou, Senior Advisor, Strategy and Digital Innovations, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development
Richard Zimmerman, Partner, WE Family Offices
The Honorable Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, and Founder of Realizing Rights and Climate Justice
ACTING TODAY FOR AN AMBITIOUS TOMORROW
Hosted by 3M
12:00–1:00 pm EDT
Corporations play a crucial role in advancing the health of our planet, protecting its natural resources, and building a better future for its people—and stakeholders increasingly expect them to do so. Addressing our shared global challenges will require more ambitious commitments, action grounded in data, and broader cross-sector collaboration. Through the exchange of insights and ideas, this Solution Session detailed how corporate commitments are driving positive changes, the best approaches for leveraging technology and learning from data, and the crucial role of unified action in driving us toward a brighter future.
Speakers:
Gayle Schueller, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, 3M
John Banovetz, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Environmental Responsibility, 3M
Peter Lacy, Chief Responsibility Officer and Global Sustainability Services Lead, Accenture
Chris Coulter, Chief Executive Officer, GlobeScan
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION
Hosted by the National Academies and Arizona State University
1:00–2:00 pm EDT
The pandemic has made the achievement of the SDGs more challenging, with increasing concerns about supply chain disruption, environmental degradation, and persistent inequalities. As the international community slowly adapts to a new normal, the pace of global policy discussions should accelerate to deliver much-needed change. This session highlighted the importance of international collaboration for achieving the SDGs with a timeline of 2030. Presentations and facilitated discussions focused on the role of science, technology, and innovation in support of more effective policies and actions toward sustainability; advancing awareness of the SDGs with a particular focus on the youth, civil society, and the new U.S. administration; and research agendas related to sustainability and the SDGs to inform post-2030 processes.
Moderators:
Andrew Steer, President and CEO, Bezos Earth Fund
Amanda Ellis, Director, Global Partnerships, Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, Arizona State University
Speakers:
Tateo Arimoto, Principal Fellow, Japan Science and Technology Agency and Visiting Professor and Deputy Director, Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Center, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)
Daya Reddy, President, International Science Council and South African Research Chair in Computational Mechanics, University of Cape Town
Peter Schlosser, Vice President and Vice Provost, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, Arizona State University
Ada Yonath (NAS), Director, The Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly, Weizmann Institute of Science (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009)