Collaboration to bring UChicago’s expertise on climate finance, carbon removal, and more into programming; new speakers announced include Illinois governor, COP30 President-Designate, and other climate and energy leaders.
Chicago, IL, June 3, 2025 – Aspen Ideas: Climate is excited to announce a partnership with the University of Chicago Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth, which will serve as the official academic thought partner for the event.The collaboration will involve key elements of Aspen Ideas: Climate Chicago’s programming, integrating the University of Chicago’s global expertise and cutting-edge research into the agenda. Together, they will co-curate sessions on critical topics such as climate finance, carbon removal, and carbon markets, among others.“The University of Chicago’s Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth is an exciting new leader driving cutting-edge research and action around the world,” said Greg Gershuny, Director of Aspen Ideas: Climate. “They are a key strategic partner in identifying the ideas that are bold, scalable, and actionable and have been helping us to spotlight those perspectives for the greatest impact.”
“We are thrilled to be the academic thought partner for Aspen Ideas: Climate,” said Michael Greenstone, the director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth and the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago. “Aspen Ideas continuously produces robust conversations with leading voices on the most challenging topics of our times—climate change certainly among them. We look forward to an Aspen Ideas: Climate that digs into some of the toughest climate questions and shows off the terrific city of Chicago.”New speakers announced today include the Governor of Illinois, COP30 President-Designate, and leading voices from academia, nonprofits, and the private sector:
- Erika Allen, Founder and CEO, Urban Growers Collective
- Yinka Bode-George, Founder & CEO, Sustain Our Future Foundation
- Michael Bruce, Partner, Emerson Collective
- Neil Chatterjee, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Palmetto Solar Energy
- Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, President-Designate, COP30
- Caroline Gleich, Athlete Activist, Protect Our Winters
- Michael Greenstone, Founding Faculty Director Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth, University of Chicago
- Zeke Hausfather, Climate Research Lead, Stripe
- Heidi Heitkamp, Director, Institute of Politics, University of Chicago; Founder, One Country Project
- David Keith, Professor, Geophysical Sciences, and Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering Initiative, University of Chicago
- Mindy Lubber, CEO and President, Ceres
- John Marshall, CEO, Potential Energy Coalition
- Rich Powell, CEO, Clean Energy Buyers Association
- Governor JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois
- Anton Seals Jr., Lead Steward, Grow Greater Englewood
- Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent, Time
More speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. Click here to see the complete list.Aspen Ideas: Climate will be open to the public, with passes to attend available here for purchase. Members of the media are invited to apply for a press credential here.
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The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. The University of Chicago Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth leverages the University’s unique legacy and resources to balance the risks of a changing climate with the essential need for human progress. It does so by combining frontier research in economics and policy, climate systems engineering, and energy technologies with a pioneering approach to energy and climate education. The Institute also seeds interdisciplinary research that explores new topics in this ever-evolving field and deploys practical, effective solutions in countries central to this challenge. climate.uchicago.edu. Chicago Climate Corps (C3) unites rising climate leaders aged 25-40 to accelerate regional climate action. C3 is helping to establish Chicago and the Midwest as a global hub for climate innovation and leadership.
