At the end of last year, I had the opportunity to attend COP28 in Dubai. I find those massive UN conferences to be simultaneously invigorating and discouraging, a unique brew of hope and despair. Humanity is making halting progress towards addressing climate change (though we are making progress), and while I'm not entirely convinced that gathering 100,000 people for mega-events is productive use of time and resources, there's something electrifying about being around tens of thousands of people united around a common cause. This exprience has been on my mind lately, because it's a big spring for climate action at MIT. A couple weeks ago, President Kornbluth announced The Climate Project, a whole-of-MIT effort to develop and implement climate solutions. At the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, I'm piloting a new program called "The Dirt Road: Climate and Energy Entrepreneurship," which fills an important gap in the innovation ecosystem. Rather than start with idea, students will end with an idea, and they'll get there through an often overlooked part of the journey: deeply considering unsolved problems and high-impact opportunities and figuring out where they can best apply their time and talents. Also, on February 27, I'll be co-hosting a Climate Salon with Victoria Pisini, Emma Leavitt, and Kacy Cox, following up on a successful event last fall. The focus will be the role of storytelling, art, and design in fostering climate solutions. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ej7HXk7G And on March 14, the Trust Center will be hosting the 2024 Cleantech Open Northeast MIT Kickoff Party: https://lnkd.in/esp7T3DJ Later in the spring, I’ll also be resuming the Innovation for a Warming Planet series, which brings in leaders from large institutions to talk about their approach to innovation, and I'm aiming to do a climate-themed pitch event, most likely in April around Earth Day. While big events like COP28 generate lots of fanfare, the real work happens during the rest of the year, in our own communities. I'm excited to be part of that work at MIT, and that's what keeps me going from day to day. I wrote some of these reflections and more in a Trust Center blog post. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eGTuVF8x Also special thanks to IREX for sponsoring my travel to Dubai! I was there with a handful of inspiring Iraqi students participating in the Environmental Action Academy led by thomas fenton and Lori Mason. #COP28 #climateaction #entrepreneurship #innovation #climatestartups Tod Hynes
Antonio Dixon
6mo
Looks like we missed each other at COP. If you need some support from Saudia Arabia let me know. I’m also launching a $100M fund here focused on climate.
Go go go 💚🌎
Love the energy and momentum around climate action at MIT! Exciting times ahead. 🌍🌱 Ben Soltoff
James Jenkins
6mo
Ben Soltoff, what you all have been doing with Greentown Labs and Texas partners has been so inspiring...and I know you're doing so much more! Great to read your article and to know how inspired you are by MIT alums and what's happening on campus. Keep going!
I'm always moved and inspired after reading what you write...from LI posts to GreenBiz articles. You have many gifts and talents, and I'm glad you are using them all to do the real work. Keep it up!!
Strategic Communications in Climate/Sustainability/Water
6moI am following a colleague's "like" to your post. Bravo. One of the stages of creative problem solving/innovation that is often given scant time and resources (and diverse participation) is challenge exploration. I like where you are going strategically, and look forward to following your progress along the "Dirt Road." Excellent insights.