Colleagues in Climate Action and Sustainability
- Michael Svoboda
- Apr 7
- 7 min read
With apologies once again for the late hour, below please find this week’s lists of events, reports, peer-reviewed studies, news and commentary, and podcasts
Included are advance notices for events later this month at GW and the World Bank and a separate notice for a multi-day event at Gallaudet at the end of this week. And for the first time ever, the nine university members of DC CHEERS—American,* Catholic, Gallaudet, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown, Howard, Trinity, UDC—are represented in s weekly message.
The consequences and implications of the Iran War figure prominently in the events, reports, news/commentary, and podcasts. Kate Aronoff, writing for The New Republic, expresses the essential point well: “The Iran War Is Forcing an Energy Transition. But What Kind?”
With best wishes for a successful week!
Michael
P.S. If you would like to offer advance notice of an upcoming event at your institution, just include the necessary details and links in a reply to this email.
*AU is represented by the professor quoted in NYT’’s account of last weekend’s ‘No Kings’ rallies.
The Climate, Politics & Sustainability Weekly – Sun., April 5th – Sat., April 11th
Advance Notice for Upcoming Event
April 13–18 – Multi-Day – Spring Meetings 2026 – World Bank & International Monetary Fund
April 17–18 – Multi-Day – 2026 Planet Forward Summit: Take the Mic, Shape the Story – GW
April 24 – Half Day – Climate and Health Research Day – GW ASF, REACH, Redstone GCP&W
Multi-Day Event Coming This Week
April 10–13 – Multi-Day – National Battle of the Books Competition – Gallaudet University
DC Events – In-Person and/or Online
– Mon., Apr. 06 @ 12:30 PM – Race, AI and Modern-Day Redlining – Howard Univ. School of Law
– Mon., Apr. 06 @ 07:00 PM – The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline… – P&P
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 10:00 AM – Crude Diplomacy: Oil & Iran War – Carnegie Endowment for Intl Peace
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 11:30 AM – Ajay Banga on WBG’s Jobs Agenda & Global Development – Atlantic Cncl
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 12:30 PM – Conversation w Hon. Amul Thapur, Federalist Society – Catholic / CSoL
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 12:30 PM – Ethnonationalism by Algorithm, w GU Prof. Overton – HU/School of Law
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 12:30 PM – Is There Any Hope to Stop Misinformation? w Adam Berinsky – GU IDDP
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 01:30 PM – Global Energy Outlook 2026: How the World Lost the Goal of 1.5C – RFF
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 02:00 PM – Protecting US Communications: Countering Foreign Risks – Hudson Inst.
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 03:00 PM – Conversation w H.E. Ambassador Duarte Lopes, Portugal – Stimson Center
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 06:00 PM – The Long War on Iran: New Events Old Questions, w B. Ghamarai – B&P
– Tues., Apr. 07 @ 07:00 PM – After the Riot: Aftermath of the Jan. 6th Attack on the Capitol – P&P UM
– Wed., Apr. 08 @ 08:30 AM – IMEC (India-Mid.East-Europe-Econ. Corridor) in Time of War – Atlantic Cncl
– Wed., Apr. 08 @ 12:00 PM – Accreditation 101: How Colleges Are Measured – New America Foundation
– Wed., Apr. 08 @ 11:30 AM – Btw Beasts & Stars: Medieval Persp. on Earth, Ether, Nature & God – GU
– Wed., Apr. 08 @ 01:30 PM – CLfEJ: Building an Energy Future that Leaves No One Energy Poor – ELI
– Wed., Apr. 08 @ 02:00 PM – The US-Israeli-War: Destabilizing Lebanon & Broader Region – CAP
– Wed., Apr. 08 @ 03:30 PM – Inaugural Founders’ Day Panel Discussion: Birthday of Catholic Univ. – CU
– Wed., Apr. 08 @ 04:00 PM – One Planet, Shared Voices: Reflecting on Our Shared Responsibility – GMU
– Wed., Apr. 08 @ 07:00 PM – Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries w/ N. Lehman – P&P
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 09:00 AM – Deputy Secretary of State Landau on Commercial Diplomacy – Atlantic Cncl
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 09:00 AM – Operationalizing Anticipatory Action: On the Ground in Nepal - Stimson
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 11:00 AM – What Path Forward? Board of Peace, Gaza, & Multilateralism – CEIP
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 11:00 AM – The Future of Free Speech: Reversing Global Decline … – Cato Institute
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 12:00 PM – The Great Game: A Tale of Two Footballs …, w/ A. Martinez – New America
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 12:00 PM – Social Justice Reading and Open Mic – Trinity Washington University
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 12:30 PM – Book Talk: Michael Derrer on His Three Books on Corruption – GW ESIA
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 01:00 PM – Earthwise Initiative: Global Environmental Awareness: Env. Educ – GMU
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 01:00 PM – New Evidence of China’s Forced Organ Harvesting & US Response – Hudson
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 01:00 PM – Global Economic Prospects: Spring 2026 – Peterson Institute for Intrnl Econ
– Thrs., Apr. 09 @ 01:00 PM – Money Beyond Borders: Global Currencies from Croesus to Crypto – Quincy
– Frid., Apr. 10 @ 08:00 AM – All Day – 14th AWRA Ntnl Capital Region Water Resources Symp. – UDC
– Frid., Apr. 10 @ 09:00 AM – All Day – The 14th Amendment & Next Founding – HU / 14th Amend. Ctr.
– Frid., Apr. 10 @ 10:00 AM – Game Changers: Cures for 21st Century Biological Threats – Atlantic Cncl
– Frid., Apr. 10 @ 12:00 PM – Journalism Under Fire: Navigating Age of Growing Conflict – GW IPDGC
– Frid., Apr. 10 @ 03:00 PM – Myth of Access: Affordability, Perception, Infrastructure Equity – GU ECo
– Frid., Apr. 10 @ 07:00 PM – NO! The Art & Activism of Complaining, with author Sara Ahmed – P&P
– Satr., Apr. 11 @ 05:00 PM – Strange People on the Hill: How Extremism Tore Apart a Small Town – P&P
– Satr., Apr. 11 @ 06:00 PM – Anthony Browder: Egyptologist and Historian – Busboys & Poets, 14th Str.
Note: If any part of the title for an event has been italicized, then it’s focused on an author interview or book discussion.
New Reports and Books
Contesting the Frontier: Rethinking the US Energy Innovation Policy in Semi-Settled Landscape by D. M. Hart (American Enterprise Institute 2026, 18 pages, free download)
Fossil-Fueled Foolery 3.0: The Authoritarian Takeover Edition: The Foolishness Persists but the Resistance Is Rising by J. Patterson et al (The Chisholm Legacy Project 2026, 61 pages, free download)
American Immigration Attitudes: A 50-State Survey by M. Baum et al (Civic Health and Institutes Project 2026, pages, free download)
Demand and Disruption: Energy Industry Insights 2026 by Research Team (DNV 2026, 33 pages, free download with registration)
Africa’s Just Transition Opportunity: Decolonising Economic Transformation for Climate Resilience by F. Kaboub & M. Adow (Earth4All 2026, 25 pages, free download)
AI in Higher Education: Widespread Use, Unclear Rules by Research Team (Gallup / Lumina Foundation 2026, 16 pages, free download)
Food Security in a Warming World: Who Is at Risk, Why and What Comes Next? by R. Bharadwaj et al (International Institute for Environment and Development 2026, 74 pages, free download)
Where’s the Demos in Democracy? Building Democratic Futures and Resisting Autocracy by N. Nampoothiri et al (Institute of Development Studies 2026, 44 pages, free download)
Geopolitics and the Geometry of Global Trade, 2026 Update: Tariff Splashes, AI Waves, and the Ripples Reshaping Global Trade by T. Devesa et al (McKinsey Global Institute 2026, 59 pages, free download with registration)
Financial Protection Against Catastrophic Risks: Floods, Fires, and Other Major Risks by L. Wolfrom et al (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 2026, pages, free download)
Peer-Reviewed Studies
Applied Geochem. (March) – “CO2 Removal by Enhanced Weathering on Green Clay Tennis Courts”
Env. Communication (March) – “Storytelling Science for Sustainability: … Sustainable Food Systems”
Env. Res. Water (March) – “Local Water Use & Climate Variability … Alter .. Eco Flows across US”
Humanities & SS Communication (AdvOn) – “Artificial Intelligence and Climate Migration Equity”
Nature (04.02) – “Investigating Reproducibility, Robustness, Replicability of Soc. & Behav. Sciences”
NPJ Climate Action (AdvOn) – “Exploring Patterns of Distr. Justice in Global CC Mitig. Scenarios”
One Earth (March) – “Israel-Gaza Conflict Carbon Emissions Exceeded 30 Million Tons”
PNAS (03.31) – “Unprecedented Amazonia Rainforest Damage During 2023–2024 Droughts”
Science (04.02) – “Strategies for Achieving Healthy, Sustainable & Equitable Dietary Transitions”
WIREs CC (AdvOn) – “Multi-Stability of Present-Day Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circ.”
Popular Commentary, News and Analysis
The Crucial Years (03.30) – “Night Into Day: The Thing Changing World This Year Is … Batteries”
DeSmog (04.01) – “Combustible Cartoon Character Wants to Make Kids Feel Sorry for Fossil Fuels”
Heatmap (04.02) – “World Is Responding to Iran by Becoming More Like China: Electrification, Coal”
Hechinger (04.01) – “Heat Is On: As CC Threatens Student Athlete Safety, States Try to Adapt”
New Republic (04.02) – “The Iran War Is Forcing an Energy Transition. But Whar Kind?”
NYT (03.29) – “5 Takeaways from ‘No Kings’ Rallies as the Midterms Heat Up” (cites AU prof.)
New Yorker (04.05) – “How to Poison an Ocean: Trump’s New Era of Offshore Drilling”
Podcasts & Radio Stories
Climate One – The Podcast (04.03) – “Nature Is Non-Partisan, w Benji Backer & Skyler Zunk”
Heatmap – Shift Key (04.01) – “New Look at Why Elect. Prices Have Gone Up in Yr Zip Code”
Inside Climate News – Sunday Morning (04.05) – “Paramedics for Ecosystems: Shuar of Ecuador”
Mother Jones – More to the Story (04.01) – “An Unfiltered Interview with Former VP Al Gore”
National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) (03.30) – “12 EE Podcasts for Earth Day”
Global Optimism – Outrage & Optimism (04.01) – “Forecasting Disaster: A ‘Super’ El Nino?”
Planet Critical – Podcast (04.02) – “Reform Not Revolution, w Chilean Minister of Finance”
PRX – Living on Earth (04.03) – “Trump Waives Endangered Species Protect.” / “Citizen Bioblitz”
RFF – Resources Radio (03.31) – “Climate-Related Risks in the Financial Sector, w K. Stiroh”
Volts – Podcast – “”Using More of the Gird” (04.01) / “Rethinking Climate Regulation” (04.03)
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