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Summit on America's Climate Choices
March 30-31, 2009
The National Academy of Sciences
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.


View the archived Summit webcast here and listen to podcasts.

View the news release and photos from the Summit.

Read some of the press coverage on the Summit.

Concerns over the impacts of climate change have prompted calls for action from all levels of governments and across the many sectors of the economy and society. But which actions are most effective, both in the short-term and the long-term? What are the major practical and technological hurdles? What information do people need to respond effectively?

In response to a request from Congress, the National Academies have initiated a suite of studies called America's Climate Choices designed to inform and guide the nation's response to climate change. More than 90 experts from government, academia, and the private sector have been selected to serve on the steering committee and four focused panels. These volunteer experts will produce a series of consensus reports, to be released in late 2009 and 2010, that will provide policy advice and practical guidance for taking action in response to climate change.

The Summit on America's Climate Choices:

• Began a process of open dialog among key stakeholders and decision makers, including Congress, administration and federal officials, business leaders, state and local leaders, nongovernmental organizations, and other important voices.
• Outlined the key questions that need to be answered to move ahead.
• Helped inform and frame the context of the America's Climate Choices studies.
• Set the stage for national action on climate change.

Speakers included: Ralph Cicerone, President, National Academy of Sciences; the Honorable Alan Mollohan (D-WV); James J. Mulva, Conoco Phillips; Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund; the Honorable Eileen Claussen, Pew Center on Global Climate Change; Howard Frumkin, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Carter Roberts, World Wildlife Fund; Susan Solomon, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; James Woolsey, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Henry Jacoby, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jerry Melillo, Marine Biological Laboratory; Steven Schneider, Stanford University; Robert Socolow, Princeton Environmental Institute; Albert Carnesale, University of California, Los Angeles; and others.

NOTE. Due to copyright restrictions, the National Academies will not be able to post speakers' PowerPoint presentations on the America's Climate Choices website. Requests to view presentations may be made to the Public Access Records Office.

Agenda

Biographical Sketches of Speakers, Moderators, and Panel Chairs and Vice-Chairs.

Join the Summit on America's Climate Choices Group on Facebook.