Climate Leadership Conference
Hosted by Students at Harvard Kennedy School
February 20th, 2026
The Climate Leadership Conference (CLC) is a student-run conference at Harvard Kennedy School that brings together global and local leaders, policymakers, practitioners, and academics to address the pressing challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
The 3rd Annual Climate Leadership Conference will be centered around the theme of Brave Leadership in Uncertain Times for Nature and Climate. Conversations at the conference will be organized across three primary topics: leadership at different levels of governance, environment and biodiversity, and technological innovation.
Environment
The planet’s equilibrium depends on human society operating within the planetary boundaries, six of which have already been transgressed. This track will explore our environmental footprint across these salient thresholds asking the questions: What sectors do we focus on? Where are the worst impacts of the crisis concentrated? What resources can we leverage to accelerate change? Who are the key stakeholders?
Governance
Despite political headwinds, the work of climate leadership continues and requires pragmatic, forward-looking visions that center resilience, adaptability, and coalition-building. Progress requires affirmative visions and centering “where” and “how” meaningful progress can still happen.
Technology
New technological innovations offer new opportunities and challenges for policymakers. On one hand, start ups have the potential to incubate new cost-effective tools to climate mitigation. On the other hand, rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence and large language models could exponentially grow energy demands on already constrained electricity grids. Policy interventions can be tools to promote new technologies while providing guardrails against the worst unintended consequences.