John Kerry and Peter Salovey discuss sustainable energy during Yale Climate Day

05/12/21

In a conversation with President Peter Salovey recorded during Yale Climate Day, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said the U.S. economy is headed for a massive overhaul as private and public entities coalesce around more sustainable energy policies and technologies.

“I think it’s the biggest transformation, Peter, since the industrial revolution,” Kerry said. “Bigger by far than the technology revolution of the 1990s in desk computers and mobile phones. This is going to be gigantic.”

Kerry and Salovey also discussed goals for the UN Climate Change Conference being held in November, the importance of student activism for the environmental movement, how to bridge political differences on climate issues, and where climate-related research at Yale should be focused.

In addition to his role in the Biden administration, the former secretary of state remains connected with the Kerry Initiative, the interdisciplinary program he founded within Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.

Yale Climate Day is a campus-wide climate summit for the Yale community to come together on climate change, one of the most pressing environmental problems humanity is facing. Yale Climate Day 2021, held May 11, featured online events that included a discussion on US climate policy, short climate talks by Yale faculty, a poster session where emerging scholars showcase their work, and a photo contest.

Climate Day is supported by the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS), Yale Planetary Solutions Project, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Yale School of the Environment, Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Yale School of Public Health. 

View the video recording by clicking below:

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YaleNews article published May 18, 2021

For more information, visit the YIBS website