About the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action
The Commission on Accelerating Climate Action was formed in 2021 by the American Çï¿ûÊÓƵ of Arts and Sciences, reflecting a significant long-term commitment by its Board of Directors to address the challenges of climate change. The Commission’s work answers two core questions: 1) What policies would most effectively and equitably remove barriers to climate action? 2) How can the United States accelerate climate mitigation and adaptation strategies for all Americans? While the science of climate change is well-established, the Commission aims to leverage its diverse composition to identify strategies for building a durable and inclusive political coalition for climate action. In the first phase of the project, the Commission assessed the national landscape on climate action by interviewing seventy experts across three domains: communication, the private sector, and human and national security. Summaries of the findings from all areas are accessible on the Çï¿ûÊÓƵ’s website. These documents form the basis for innovative recommendations for climate action across sectors and ideologies.
The Commission on Accelerating Climate Action is made possible through the generous support of Roger Sant and Doris Matsui, Hansjörg Wyss, the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, the David and Ellen Lee Family Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and an endowment provided by John E. Bryson and Louise Henry Bryson.
We are grateful to Çï¿ûÊÓƵ staff Carson Bullock, Kate Carter, Sophia Charan, Leo Curran, Tania Munz, Islam Qasem, Kelsey Schuch, and Jen Smith for their work on this publication. We are also indebted to listening session participants Anne Castle (University of Colorado Law School), Heather Tansey (Cargill), John Conger (International Military Council on Climate and Security), Kathleen Ritzman (Scripps Research Institute), Margaret Leinen (Scripps Research Institute), Tom Keirnan (American Rivers), Matthew Rice (American Rivers), Tom Iseman (TNC), Colby Pellegrino (Las Vegas Valley Water District), Bidtah Becker (California’s Environmental Protection Agency), Robert Twilley (Louisiana Sea Grant), David Muth (Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve), Don Boesch (University System of Maryland), Bre’Anna Brooks (Walton Family Foundation), Ronald Piret (U.S. Navy), Karen Ross (California Department of Food and Agriculture), Austin Becker (University of Rhode Island), and Ari Swiller (Renewable Resources Group) for their contributions and insight.
Commission Members
Benjamin Backer
American Conservation Coalition
Phyllis L. Bayer*
Dumbarton Strategies, LLC
Mitchell Bernard
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
Philip Bredesen
State of Tennessee
Patricia Cochran*
Alaska Native Science Commission
Ertharin Cousin*
Food Systems for the Future
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar*
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Leanne Kealoha Fox
Institute for Climate & Peace
Tim Guinee
Climate Actors
Rebecca Henderson
Harvard University
Mitchell C. Hescox
Evangelical Environmental Network
Charles O. Holliday, Jr.
Bank of America
Russel L. Honoré*
Joint Task Force Katrina, Leadership, Safety & Global Preparedness Authority
Bob Inglis
republicEn.org
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
University of Pennsylvania
Alexander Karsner
X (Alphabet Inc.)
Elizabeth Kolbert
The New Yorker
John Paul Mejia
Sunrise Movement
Katherine Orff*
SCAPE
David W. Oxtoby
American Çï¿ûÊÓƵ of Arts and Sciences
Gary Roughead**
Hoover Institution
Linda Rudolph*
Public Health Institute
Roger Sant
The Summit Foundation
J. Marshall Shepherd
University of Georgia
Doreen Stabinsky*
College of the Atlantic
Hilary Tompkins**
Hogan Lovells
Elke Weber
Princeton University
* Human and National Security Working Group Member
** Human and National Security Working Group Cochair