Global Experiences

UChicago at Aspen Ideas: Climate

The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth serves as the official academic thought partner for Aspen Ideas: Climate.

UChicago at Aspen Ideas: Climate 2026

The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth returned as the official academic thought partner for Aspen Ideas: Climate for its second year, which took place in Chicago on July 20-22, 2026.

Speakers

2026 Participants

ETI Scholar

Chibueze Amanchukwu

Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering in the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering

Sue Biniaz

Distinguished Fellow, 2025-2026, 2026-2027; Former Principal Deputy Special Envoy for Climate, United States

Kristina Costa

Managing Director, Policy & Strategic Engagement
Scholar

Michael Greenstone

Founding Director, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth; Director, EPIC

Colleen Grogan

Deborah R. and Edgar D. Jannotta Professor, University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
EPIC Scholar

Amir Jina

Assistant Professor, Harris School of Public Policy
CSEI Scholar

David Keith

Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering initiative; Professor of Geophysical Science
Affiliated Scholar

Elisabeth Moyer

Associate Professor, Geophysical Sciences

Zeenat Rahman

Executive Director, University of Chicago Institute of Politics
EPIC

Justin Worland

EPIC Journalism Fellow; Senior Correspondent, TIME; Founder, Future Proof

2025 Participants

Erin Burns

Executive Director, Carbon180

Juliet Eilperin

Deputy Climate and Environment Editor, The Washington Post

Jane Flegal

Nonresident Fellow 2026-2027; Senior Fellow, Searchlight Institute and The States Forum
Scholar

Michael Greenstone

Founding Director, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth; Director, EPIC

Zeke Hausfather

Climate Research Lead, Stripe; Breakthrough Senior Fellow, The Breakthrough Institute

Carl Hoiland

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Zanskar
CSEI Scholar

David Keith

Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering initiative; Professor of Geophysical Science
ETI Scholar

Y. Shirley Meng

Director, Energy Transition Network; Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering, UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering

Rob Meyer

Founding Executive Editor, Heatmap

Jeff Navin

Co-Founder and Partner, Boundary Stone Partners

Avra van der Zee

COO, Elemental Excelerator

Rama Variankaval

Global Head of Corporate Advisory, J.P. Morgan

Michael Webber

John J. McKetta Centennial Energy Chair in Engineering Sid Richardson Chair, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Austin

Ali Zaidi

Former Assistant to President Biden and White House National Climate Advisor

Past Events

UChicago at Aspen Ideas: Climate 2025

Grace Gu

College '29

“I think it’s been quite exciting and also a pretty valuable learning experience. It’s very encouraging to see so many people caring about climate, especially people from private corporations. I’ve learned a lot, and it’s certainly interesting to see how people from different fields and industries have overlapping concerns.”

Laura Bornhoevd

College '28

“This summer I’ve been working as a clean energy marketing and communications intern for R&D B2B Marketing, and seeing the topics that R&D’s clients are working on being discussed at Aspen Ideas has been really interesting. I’ve gotten to see up close how important the clean tech that these clients are developing is in the conversations that are happening here.”

Zoe Lipschultz

College '28

“It’s inspiring to see professionals across industries come together to promote environmental sustainability. The key ingredient to meet ambitious sustainability goals is the development and deployment of new technologies. It’s a great feeling to know that the work I’m doing in computational chemistry this summer is part of advancing these goals.”