Indigenous Peoples, comprising 5% of the global population, safeguard 80% of the world's biodiversity. This fact underscores their critical role as experts in resource management and climate action, yet their knowledge is often undervalued in institutional spaces.

To move beyond mere acknowledgment, we must center and strengthen Indigenous rights in climate initiatives. Indigenous Rights activist Jade Begay will share insights on the progress of Indigenous leadership and how to empower it—a necessity for planetary survival.

This keynote was presented at the Bioneers 2023 Conference. Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org.

Kim Stanley Robinson is an acclaimed science fiction writer, celebrated for over 20 award-winning books translated into 26 languages. His influential works, notably *Ministry for the Future*, brilliantly explore global ecological, economic, and socio-political crises, offering visionary solutions for a climate-disrupted future. He was a featured speaker at COP-26.

Robinson's extensive accolades include the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards. In 2016, asteroid 72432 was named "Kimrobinson" in his honor.

Learn more at www.bioneers.org.

The energy transition is critical, with the 2020s marking a decisive decade for climate justice. As fossil fuels peak, we must rapidly scale renewables, ensuring an equitable new energy economy. Visionary "green" entrepreneur Danny Kennedy, founder of New Energy Nexus, proposes a "3D" clean energy future: distributed, decentralized in ownership, and democratized in control, driven by global grassroots entrepreneurship.

Kennedy, a seasoned eco-activist and clean-tech leader, co-founded Sungevity and Powerhouse. He now serves as CEO of New Energy Nexus, a global nonprofit providing funds, accelerators, and networks to advance clean energy innovation and adoption worldwide.

Learn more at bioneers.org.

Massive clean energy investments are poised to transform the American economy, with opportunities to reach 80% clean power by 2030 and achieve deep decarbonization across sectors. Success, however, requires widespread action.

Join award-winning author, political scientist, and climate expert Dr. Leah Stokes for a deep dive into clean energy policy. She will explore how American households and businesses can leverage new climate incentives to realize our electric future.

Dr. Stokes, a leading expert and author of "Short Circuiting Policy," is an Anton Vonk Associate Professor at UC Santa Barbara and co-host of "A Matter of Degrees." Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org.

The 1980s ushered in an era of "neo-liberal" economics, granting markets and corporations vast power, which led to escalating wealth inequality. A new global movement, Community Wealth Building, is now pushing back, fighting to democratize the economy and build wealth for the many. This movement is taking hold in diverse locations worldwide.

Renowned journalist Laura Flanders, host of The Laura Flanders Show on public television, will explain why this growing movement for a democratic economy may be the most important economic movement of our time. Flanders is an Izzy-Award winning independent journalist and bestselling author.

Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org

Bioneers' co-founder and Chief Relationship Strategist Nina Simons traditionally opens each conference. With clarity and passion, she outlines Bioneers' history and core values, emphasizing reverence for nature, biological, and human diversity.

Simons stresses the importance of balancing our inner and outer worlds. This balance is crucial for fostering a new civilization built on relationships, rather than material possessions.

Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org

Third Act empowers people over 60 to drive social change, leveraging their wisdom and energy to support younger generations in building a healthy, equitable world. Co-founded by Bill McKibben, this vital movement is explained by renowned activist and leadership educator Akaya Windwood.

Akaya, an award-winning transformation facilitator and author, brings extensive experience from various leadership roles to her work as Lead Advisor for Third Act. Her insights guide how we can participate in this exciting new movement.

Learn more at bioneers.org.

Human-designed products often involve unsustainable processes, creating materials incompatible with living systems. John Warner, a co-founder of green chemistry, offers a solution: by embracing nature's "materials metabolism," we can design and build products that are truly in harmony with the environment.

Dr. Warner's extensive career includes over 300 patents and 100 publications. He co-founded the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry and Beyond Benign, a non-profit dedicated to green chemistry education. An award-winning researcher and advisor, he has significantly advanced sustainable design.

Learn more at www.bioneers.org

The climate crisis has crucial cultural aspects. Rebecca Solnit, co-editor of *Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility*, highlights new narratives emerging from science, Indigenous leadership, and organizing. These stories offer grounds for hope, envisioning an age of abundance rather than austerity.

Solnit, a renowned author of over 20 books including *Hope in the Dark*, is an influential writer and activist. She regularly contributes to The Guardian and launched the Not Too Late project.

Learn more at Bioneers.org.

At 14, Amara Ifeji mobilized a grassroots effort against racism in her high school. She initially viewed her love for nature and racial justice as distinct, until youth of color revealed their complete intertwining. This awakening profoundly shaped her subsequent work as an effective organizer and advocate, centering storytelling to advance environmental justice, climate education, and outdoor learning for all youth.

Now 21, Amara is an award-winning climate justice activist (2021 National Geographic Young Explorer, 2022 Brower Youth Award) and Director of Policy at the Maine Environmental Education Association. Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org.

Erin Matariki Carr, a Maori lawyer and member of RIVER, is a leader in Aotearoa New Zealand's movement for constitutional transformation, honoring Te Tiriti o Waitangi 1840. This movement challenges human superiority over land. A key initiative is the legal personhood granted to Te Urewera rainforest, ancestral homelands of Ngāi Tūhoe. This innovative approach removes human ownership, establishing a new kawa (law) focused on management for the land's benefit.

Carr previously helped implement policies for Te Urewera's legal personhood. As a project lead at RIVER, she continues to advance constitutional transformation, collaborating with groups like Tūmanako Consultants and Te Kuaka NZA.

Learn more at http://www.bioneers.org.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a former Bioneers participant, organizer, and activist, shares her "inside-outside" theory of change in a personal video. This approach, developed as an organizer and employed as a legislator, aims to build power and enact policy shifts. She chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, representing Washington's 7th District.

As the first South Asian American woman elected to the House, Rep. Jayapal is a highly influential leader on progressive policies, including immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate. Her work builds on decades of advocacy for women's, immigrant, and human rights. She authored "Use the Power You Have." Learn more at Bioneers.org.

The ITU Secretary-General delivered a special video message for Girls in ICT Day 2023.

This annual observance highlights the critical role of women and girls in the information and communication technologies sector, encouraging their participation and empowerment in digital fields.

Dr. Cathy Fitzgerald's talk, "Stories for a Wiser Forestry," at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens on March 27, 2023, addressed "The Right Tree in the Right Place." Responding to urgent IPCC warnings, she advocates for wiser ecological permanent forestry as an alternative to ecocidal clear-fell monoculture, fostering enduring well-being.

Fitzgerald's work, including her Hollywood Forest Story blog at HollywoodForest.com, details transforming a 2-acre conifer plantation into a resilient mixed-species forest. This innovative case study, recognized by Creative Carbon Scotland (link), promotes a shift to a life-promoting Symbiocene era. Her ecoliteracy courses at HaumeaEcoversity.ie further advance this global cultural shift towards sustainability.

Called "the voice of the resistance" by The New York Times, writer and activist Rebecca Solnit discussed her view that the future hinges on present action to counter institutional inertia and fossil fuel interests. She emphasized moving from climate despair to possibility, drawing from her book *Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility*.

Solnit was joined by co-editor and climate activist Thelma Young Lutunatabua and native Fijian Fenton Lutunatabua (participating virtually). Together, they called on the audience to embrace indigenous wisdom and new stories to rise to the moment. This event was presented in association with Bioneers 2023 on March 22, 2023.

Hosted by The Commonwealth Club of California, the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. Join our Email List or BECOME a MEMBER.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a Tucson-based 501c3 nonprofit. We believe human welfare is deeply linked to nature’s diversity of wild animals and plants. Our mission is to secure a future for all species on the brink of extinction, protecting their lands, waters, and climate through science, law, and creative media.

Explore related content: Dead Monster Manual, Book of Extinction, and Kieran’s interview on Making a Monster. Discover more about gopher tortoises, bumblebees, Atrazine, and leopards. Connect with us: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. For questions, email center@biologicaldiversity.org.

Register now for the 34th annual Bioneers 2023 Conference! Join hundreds of visionary leaders, artists, and solutionaries for three days of riveting talks and movement building. Tickets are going fast – secure yours today! https://conference.bioneers.org/

As climate disruption and a crisis of democracy challenge our world, Bioneers provides a vital platform. For over three decades, we've fostered a "movement of movements," uniting people around authentic "solve-the-whole problem" solutions. We believe in regeneration over nihilism, wholeness over shattering.

Especially in these times, we invite you to join the Bioneers community. Learn more and register at https://conference.bioneers.org/.

John Fullerton, founder of Capital Institute, proposes "Capitalism 2.0," a regenerative economy modeled on natural laws to foster equality. He argues the modern economy is an unsustainable hierarchy, unlike healthy living systems. Fullerton warns that without this shift, increasing inequality could lead to civil strife.

As an architect of Regenerative Capitalism, Fullerton advocates for financial incentives to create a self-sustaining system. He points to nature's sustainable hierarchies—like a lion's balanced behavior or the branching patterns of trees and rivers—as blueprints for a more just and resilient economic future.

NKWO, an award-winning designer and contributor to the Foundation's Circular Design for Fashion Book, innovatively repurposes old denim. She uses traditional Nigerian craft with market-sourced scraps to create Dakala, a new striped fabric.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a UK charity, promotes the circular economy. This design-driven model eliminates waste and pollution, circulates products and materials, and regenerates nature.

For more insights, subscribe to the [Ellen MacArthur Foundation YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1). Learn about our work at [ellenmacarthurfoundation.org](https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org). Follow us on [Instagram](http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation), [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/ellenmacarthurfoundation), [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/circulareconomy), and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/).

Lithium Americas Corporation (LAC) is splitting into two entities: Lithium Americas, focusing on North American projects like Thacker Pass, and Lithium International, managing Cauchari-Olaroz in Argentina. This restructuring is reportedly aimed at limiting liability, accessing U.S. Department of Energy loans, and distancing the company from its Chinese connections and significant issues at the Argentine site.

The Cauchari-Olaroz project, 44.8% owned by LAC and 46.7% by China's Ganfeng Lithium, has been subject to allegations of human rights violations by The Washington Post and saw two worker deaths in October. Critics suggest LAC seeks to bypass Republican opposition and federal funding hurdles by separating from its China ties and the associated human rights and environmental concerns, which are seen as mirroring potential issues at Thacker Pass.

Links:
- Lithium Americas to split into two public companies
- This foreign company wants to mine massive amounts of lithium in Nevada. First, it must overcome its China problem.
- Tossed aside in the lithium rush
- Lithium Americas reports two contractor deaths at Cauchari-Olaroz project