From severe heatwaves to extreme floods and wildfires, the effects of climate change are disrupting human life on a global scale. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert, Black Girl Environmentalist founder Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru, Climate Cardinals executive director Sophia Kianni and Novoloop CEO Miranda Wang join Washington Post Live in person for a series of conversations about the human, environmental and economic consequences of climate change and the efforts to combat them.
“We’re going to help Puerto Rico… We’re in disaster response right now, when disaster recovery comes the Congress no doubt will pass an emergency spending measure for the disaster in Puerto Rico but also very likely the other disasters across the continental united States, we’ve had flooding and wildfires and excessive heat and storms.” - Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) (Video: Washington Post Live)
“Lots of environmental activism is principled is stopping bad projects from happening but if we’re going to save the planet, if we’re actually going to meet our clean energy goals, we have to build things, we have to change our mentality. That doesn’t mean we allow improper things to get built, but it does mean that we have to make it easier to build, especially electricity transmission.” - Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) (Video: Washington Post Live)
“I am for permitting reform. Whether or not we can pass it in the CR, I don’t know… Over the last 24 hours, the Republicans have now announced that they are against a thing that they say they are for because they want to retaliate against Joe Manchin. This is something they also did with the CHIPS and science bill, where they said, ‘If you vote for this other thing, we’re going to tank this thing over here, which we like but we’re going to tank it anyway.’ That strikes me as miscalculation like it was the first time.” - Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) (Video: Washington Post Live)
“What became clear was there were two things of primary interest to them, one is protect the ongoing integrity of Patagonia the business and the other is create more money right now to cash flow the environment.” – Ryan Gellert (Video: Washington Post Live)
“We have always paid our taxes, that’s public record and that can be pulled. That’s not just in America but around the world. We don’t employ complex business structures to avoid paying taxes so we have never structured the business that way. It’s not only that we pay our taxes, we have always believed in paying our taxes.” – Ryan Gellert (Video: Washington Post Live)
“Look at the membership of the Business Roundtable, look at the membership of the American Chamber of Commerce, and look for any, and you will find very few, public statements from those members supporting the Inflation Reduction Act, or supporting prior to that Build Back Better.” – Ryan Gellert (Video: Washington Post Live)
“I wouldn’t modify it at all, I mean because it was an honest answer and I’ve got two young kids so I think about this all the time. I think the world they’re inheriting is going to be vastly different than the one I grew up in and that sobers the hell out of me to acknowledge but it’s true… I would love nothing more than to be proven wrong.” – Ryan Gellert (Video: Washington Post Live)
“If you look at climate tech and how it’s accelerated, I mean this is an industry that’s growing at the scale of the industrial revolution. But at the speed of the digital revolution. How it has changed over the past two years in terms of the amount of investment dollars going in, the number of companies being created, that is an active reflection I think of a generation change. Climate very much is the most important topic today.” - Miranda Wang (Video: Washington Post Live)
“When we think about accountability… when we think of it through the lens of individual action is actually a very flawed perception and I think too often young people feel like we need to think about our carbon footprint… The notion of the carbon footprint was designed by fossil fuel companies… We need to be holding polluters accountable and part of the biggest way we can do that is by getting involved in political processes and being advocates, going and voting and also getting out the vote.” – Sophia Kianni (Video: Washington Post Live)
“The people experiencing the climate crisis first and worse are people of color and are women. When you bring that intersection together, you find Black non-men, which is a demographic in the climate space which is not only underrepresented but isn’t allowed at the same decision-making table as others which is really what I want to help change.” - Wanjiku "Wawa" Gatheru (Video: Washington Post Live)
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The Washington Post Live Protecting Our Planet event, September 20, 2022.
Speakers include:
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert, Black Girl Environmentalist founder Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru, Climate Cardinals executive director Sophia Kianni and Novoloop CEO Miranda Wang. (Kristoffer Tripplaar)
Sen. Brian Schatz
(D-Hawaii)
Ryan Gellert
CEO, Patagonia Works and Patagonia, Inc.
Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru
Climate Justice Advocate
Founder, Black Girl Environmentalist
Sophia Kianni
Founder & Executive Director, Climate Cardinals
U.S. Representative on UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
Miranda Wang
CEO & Co-Founder, Novoloop
Content from SK
The following content is produced and paid for by a Washington Post Live event sponsor. The Washington Post newsroom is not involved in the production of this content.
(Video: Washington Post Live)
The Drive for Better
In a segment presented by SK Group, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of SK Growth Opportunities Corporation Richard Chin discusses the importance of sustainable business strategies and investment across the clean energy landscape.
This segment will explore how SK is investing in next-generation clean energy technologies, products, and services to enhance sustainable growth and value for all stakeholders.
Richard Chin
Chief Executive Officer and Board Member, SK Growth Opportunities Corporation