By: Julia Bae

Against the backdrop of honking cars and city noises, The Times Center was a place of careful listening and thought-provoking ideas. The building’s auditorium was filled with people, whose rapt attention rarely strayed from the brightly lit stage. It was September 21, 2023, and Climate Forward, an annual event hosted by The New York Times, was finally underway.

Climate Forward is a full-day gathering in midtown Manhattan where individuals hear from global figures and NYT journalists about climate change. As described on the event webpage, The New York Times aims for the event “to explore where the solutions to the climate crisis stand today and what might come next.”

Speakers included Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank; Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft; Al Gore, former U.S. Vice President; Jonas Gahr Store, Prime Minister of Norway; Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados; and William Ruto, President of Kenya. The speakers discussed many aspects of the climate movement, including the clean energy transition, climate resilience, agricultural impacts of shifting ecosystems, and the complexity of the fossil fuel industry. Their messages were a blend of criticism toward the gas and oil giants that pose such a challenge towards climate progress, sadness for the immense humanitarian impact of climate change, and inspiration that drove audience members to standing ovations and roaring applause. In particular, Gore passionately said, “Despair is just another form of denial, and we have to resist it.” Gore, who helped craft the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, stood out for his expressive gestures and clear passion.

The Climate Forward event marks a growing effort by The New York Times, as well as many other institutions, to address climate change. The effects of climate change continue to grow, and can be seen not only in the record-breaking temperatures each summer, but also in the increase of wildfires, droughts, and flooding. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, there were 31 consecutive days in Arizona this past summer where temperatures exceeded 110 degrees. 

However, these effects are also producing more action against climate change, including new technologies, protests, and emerging climate policy. For instance, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was enacted in 2022 and allocates hundreds of millions of dollars toward the clean energy transition; the IRA is considered by many to be the most significant piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Additionally, the Climate Forward Newsletter from The New York Times was created in 2017 and is entirely dedicated to exploring impacts, technologies, and other stories regarding climate change.

For many individuals, Climate Forward is not only a source of insightful talks and innovative ideas, but it also represents hope for the future of our environment. Zoe Vittori-Koch ’24, co-head of Winsor’s Conserve Our World club, commented, “Current calls to action are uniquely rooted in very real fear for our futures. I think what’s been so powerful about the current climate movement is that activists have been able to harness a sense of radical optimism that gives us all hope for change.”