Miami hosts three big climate gatherings. One star-studded, two for future leaders - Miami Herald
Miami, at ground zero for climate risks, will also be the epicenter of discussions on adapting to sea rise and other risks at events starting this weekend. | Miami Herald
Climate Change
Miami hosts three big climate gatherings. One star-studded, two for future leaders
South Florida will become the epicenter of the climate community this weekend as several events kick off that will highlight the impacts of and solutions to climate change.
The main event will be the Aspen Ideas: Climate conference, which returns to Miami Beach March 6-9 for its second year. The conference will bring over 300 speakers to the Miami Beach Convention Center and the New World Center, including vice president Kamala Harris, Miami-born latin music star Gloria Estefan, celebrity scientist Bill Nye, White House “climate czar” Ali Zaidi, former Colombian president Iván Duque, and executives from financial institutions like Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Tickets are still available, but are very expensive. They start at $250 for a single day pass. (Alternatively, you can sign up for the Miami Herald’s Stemming the Tide climate newsletter, where we’ll recap what we’re learning from the conference next week.)
In the days leading up to the conference, Aspen Ideas will also host the Future Leaders Climate Summit, which will bring together 250 researchers, activists and civil servants between the ages of 18 and 30 on March 3-6. These young climate leaders, who hail from South Florida and countries around the globe including Haiti, Hungary, Lebanon, Rwanda, Argentina and India, will meet ahead of the conference to hash out climate solutions they can bring back to their communities.
An even younger crop of future climate leaders will meet at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Miami Youth Climate Summit. A group of students from 15 public and private schools organized the event to teach their peers about the effects of climate change. Speakers include Miami-based eco-artist Xavier Cortada, Miami Waterkeeper policy director Audrey Siu, and David Roper, founder of the Greenhaven Project, which creates community gardens in food deserts around Miami.
This is the event’s fifth year; in 2021, 1,200 people attended or tuned in for a livestream of the summit on Zoom. Interested kids and parents can register to attend this year’s summit in person at Ransom Everglades Middle School for $8 (includes lunch and merch) or stream it for free online.
This climate report is funded by Florida International University, the Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partner. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023, 3:26 PM.