The Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit, presented by Second Nature and the Intentional Endowments Network, is the premier gathering of a select group of higher education leaders committed to driving the nation’s climate action. As the world looks to 2020 to update emissions reductions targets under the Paris Climate Agreement, the Summit will be an opportunity for the higher education sector to take stock of its own progress and explore ways to scale local climate leadership to meet the global goals by working across institutions and across sectors.

When the Summit takes place in February 2020, the world will have only ten years left to make the changes necessary to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change. To succeed, that climate action must be part of broader efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and therefore must happen by working across institutions and across sectors.

At the 2020 Summit, participants will learn about cutting-edge solutions and ideas during direct, next-level conversations. Cross-sector teams from colleges and universities will discuss how they are implementing the 8 guiding principles that framed the 2019 Summit’s Call to Action. Participants can also expect to collaborate within a vibrant, action-oriented peer learning environment, to build a network of allies and partners for the long term, and to connect with experts in clean energy, finance and sustainable investing, climate science, diversity, equity, and inclusion, sustainability policy, community development, and more.

As institutions that put people first - their current and future students, alumni, faculty, researchers, staff, neighbors, and partners - colleges and universities are well placed to accelerate a just transition to a carbon-free economy and healthy, sustainable society. The 2020 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit will fuel that acceleration by fostering networks of climate action.

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