Nobel Prize Summit, Our Planet, Our Future

The first Nobel Prize Summit, Our Planet, Our Future, Our Planet, will take place on April 26-28, 2021. This three-day digital event open to all has been convened to provide a platform for scientists to discuss the state of the planet at a critical juncture for humanity.  This event will convene talks from Nobel Prize laureates and conversations among experts from the science, policy, arts, and youth activist communities. It will bring together the world’s brightest and most creative thinkers to focus on three key themes critical to the future of humanity:  

1. Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss
2. Reducing Inequality
3. Technologies with the Power to Transform the Way We Live and Work

It will explore two urgent questions:

1. What can we learn from the global pandemic to reduce the risk of future shocks? 
2. What can be achieved in this decade to put the world on a path to a more sustainable, more prosperous future for all of humanity?

Informed by lessons learned during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that solving these challenges must be guided by an inclusive vision for our shared future – one that is grounded in science and that safeguards our global commons. Nobel laureates will consider these questions with the help of guests including Al Gore, the Dalai Lama, Anthony Fauci, Johan Rockström, and youth activist Xiye Bastida. The event was preceded by the release of a state of our planet report titled, “Our future in the Anthropocene biosphere,” It was published in the April 2021 issue of Ambio a journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 

“The global pandemic is an Anthropocene phenomenon. It has been caused by our intertwined relationship with nature and our hyper-connectivity. But the pandemic crisis opens up the possibility to change the course of history. It is a moment to accelerate action to stabilize Earth for future generations,” says lead author Carl Folke, director of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics and chair of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.  Co-author Johan Rockström is a presenter host and the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, described the Nobel Prize Summit  as the scientific community shouting “wake up!”

Our future depends on our collective ability to become effective stewards of the global commons – the climate, ice, land, ocean, freshwater, forests, soils, and rich diversity of life. The first Nobel Prize Summit brings together Nobel Prize laureates, scientists, policymakers, business leaders, and youth leaders to explore the question: What can be achieved in this decade to put the world on a path to a more sustainable, more prosperous future for all of humanity?

Across three days, the virtual event will combine keynotes and lively discussion with live performance and theatre. Speakers will explore solutions to some of humanity’s greatest challenges: climate change and biodiversity loss, increasing inequality, and technological innovation in support of societal goals.

The Nobel Prize Summit is hosted by the Nobel Foundation and organized by the US National Academy of Sciences in partnership with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Stockholm Resilience Centre/Beijer Institute. Inspired by Alfred Nobel’s belief in celebrating achievements that contribute “the greatest benefit to humankind,” the Nobel Foundation, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Stockholm Resilience Centre/Beijer Instituteinvite you to engage in an optimistic exploration of the best version of our collective future. 

Click here to register.