A casual conference for carbon newbies interested in getting the 101, 201, and maybe 301 on all things carbon and sustainability!

The Carbon Newbie Summit is an initiative of:

"We've learned that small actions like the choice to hop on two wheels can have far-reaching implications. We have a unique opportunity at Lime to bring riders and the public along on our decarbonization journey, hopefully inspiring others to join us and create an impact that extends far beyond our service itself. Forums like the Carbon Newbie Summit, with its fun and relaxed setting, accomplish just that for the masses, with a great potential for acceleration and scale."

VP of Sustainability & Founding Team, Lime
Climate Week NYC Summit Speaker

Andrew Savage

"When you think of the NBA – or any other sports entity for that matter – the biggest impact that we can have is being able to inspire and educate the fans, that's where we have scale."

Director, Social Responsibility, NBA
NYC Climate Week ‘23 Speaker

Annie Horn

Brands that speak at the summit

2026 Schedule

Climate Week NYC: Weds, Sept 23, 2026

📍Debevoise & Plimpton Offices | Hudson Yards

Request to attend or sign up for the free livestream

Speakers

  • Priyanka Naik

    Chef, Author, Creator, TV Personality
    Chef Priyanka/The Spicy Mango Foodies, LLC.

  • Ralph Chami

    Co-Founder and CEO
    Blue Green Future, LLC

  • Jacobo Calderon

    Director Responsible Investing
    Mubadala Investment Company

  • Claire Dorrian

    Head of Sustainable Finance
    London Stock Exchange Group

  • Jing Liao

    Chairwoman, Solera Foundation and Chief Administration Officer, Solera
    Solera

  • Catherine Stephanou

    AI Ethics & Responsible Innovation Leader
    BrainBox AI

  • Emmy Swift

    Director of Sustainable Business Framework and Partnerships
    American Family Insurance

  • Al Iannuzzi

    President
    Iannuzzi Sustainability Solutions

  • Catarina Carvalho

    Adjunct Professor
    Columbia University

  • Emer Clarke

    Director, Environmental Sustainability
    ServiceNow

  • Ulysses Smith

    ESG Senior Advisor
    Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

  • Koray Aysin

    Leader of Corporate Sustainability
    Perkins Eastman

  • Steve Siger

    Cofounder & COO
    CNaught

  • James George

    Founder and Principle
    Provocative Human Ltd.

  • Tola St. Matthew-Daniel

    Founder and CEO
    Kairos and Tola, Inc.

  • Grace Saba

    Associate Professor
    Rutgers University

  • Mansoor Barati

    Professor, and Director of Center of Metallurgical Processing and Sustainability
    University of Toronto

  • Michelle Li

    Founder
    Clever Carbon, Carbon Newbie Summit

  • Cuizhu Chloe Ma

    Postdoctoral Research Scientist
    Columbia University

  • Terra Rogers

    Director, Superhot Rock Geothermal Energy
    Clean Air Task Force

  • Rachael Weisman

    Systems Account Manager and Client Services Team Leader
    Trane Commercial

  • Riya Osti

    Dual Degree Masters Program, MPP (Munk School), MIA (Columbia University)
    University of Toronto and Columbia University

  • Ethan Agena

    PhD Candidate; Founder
    University of Toronto; SymBL Innovations Inc.

Summit Program

🚪 8:45 am EST | Doors Open and Breakfast

🌟 9:15 am - 10:00 am | PART 1

🎤 MC Opening Remarks
Steve Siger with CNaught

🎤 Founder Remarks
Michelle Li with Clever Carbon and Carbon Newbie Summit

🎤 Show Me the Money: Making the Value of Living Nature Visible | Fireside Chat
Ralph Chami with Blue Green Futures, Tola St. Matthew-Daniels with Kairos and Tola, Inc. (Moderator)

🎤 The Ocean’s Carbon Movers: How Krill and Fish Help Regulate Our Climate | Presentation
Grace Saba with Rutgers University

🎤 El Niño 101: How a Warming Pacific Disrupts Weather Around the World | Presentation
Coming soon

🎤 Risk, Resilience & Reinvention: How Insurance Is Adapting to Climate Change | Panel
Emmy Swift with American Family Insurance, Jing Liao with Solera, Adriel Lubarsky with Beehive (Moderator)

☕️ 10:00 am - 10:15 am | Coffee Break

⭐️ 10:15 am - 11:10 am | Part 2

🎤 From Data to Dinner: How Food and Pop Culture Can Inspire Change | Fireside Chat
Priyanka Naik, Michelle Li with Clever Carbon (Moderator)

🎤 Tiny Plastics, Real Effects? Exploring the Impact on Health and Behavior | Presentation
Cuizhu Chloe Ma with Columbia University

🎤 From Raw Materials to Reality: Understanding Supply Chain Impact
Al Iannuzzi with Iannuzzi Sustainability Solutions, Catarina Carvalho with Arup, James George with Provocative Human Ltd. (Moderator)

🎤 Science behind the Switch: Heat Pumps 101 | Presentation
Rachael Weisman with Trane Commercial

🎤 Smarter Buildings, Smarter Supply Chains: AI’s Decarbonization Potential | Panel
Catherine Stephanou with BrainBox AI, Emer Clarke with ServiceNow, Michelle Li with Clever Carbon (Moderator)

🍩 11:10 am - 11:25 am | Coffee Break

⭐️ 11:25 am - 12:15 pm | Part 3

🎤 Responsible Investing at Scale: Lessons in Value Creation for Sustainability | Fireside Chat
Jacobo Calderon with Mubadala, Michelle Li with Clever Carbon (Moderator)

🎤 Climate Research in Action: Inside the Lawson Climate Institute | Presentation
Ethan Agena and Riya Osti with the University of Toronto Lawson Climate Institute

🎤 Unlocking Dometic Nickel: Cleaner Pathways to Critical Minerals | Presentation
Mansoor Barati with the University of Toronto

🎤 From Footprint to Purchase: A Carbon Credit Buyer’s Journey | Fireside Chat
Koray Aysin with Perkins Eastman, Steve Siger with CNaught

🎤 From Heat to Grid: How Geothermal Energy Works | Presentation
Terra Rogers with Clean Air Task Force

🎤 From Capital to Climate Action: The Power of Financial Markets | Fireside Chat
Claire Dorrian with the London Stock Exchange Group, Ulysses Smith with Debevoise & Plimpton (Moderator)

🥂 12:15 pm - 1:00 pm | Lunch

Co-Hosts

  • Trusted by buyers like Asana, Medium, and Tiger Global, CNaught makes it easy to drive real climate impact through high-quality carbon credit portfolios. We deliver access to sophisticated buying strategies, previously available only to the largest buyers, enabling companies of any size to take meaningful climate action.

  • Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective and strong New York roots. Our clients look to us to bring a distinctively high degree of quality, intensity and creativity to resolve legal challenges effectively and cost efficiently. We have particularly deep experience in the broad range of issues that arise as environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns and requirements become increasingly important. The firm brings together sophisticated, multidisciplinary and multinational teams to provide tailored and practical guidance across the evolving ESG and business integrity spectrum by counseling on trends and prudential issues, delivering concrete legal advice on evolving sustainability regulations and policies, and helping clients prepare for the legal, financial and reputational risks arising in this rapidly changing landscape.

  • Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator. Through our strategic brands Trane® and Thermo King®, and our portfolio of environmentally responsible products and services, we bring efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes and transportation. Visit tranetechnologies.com.

  • Through a multidisciplinary approach, the Lawson Climate Institute is ramping up U of T’s capacity to advance the technologies and policies needed for Canada to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. As one of U of T’s most wide-ranging, comprehensive initiatives, the institute is unique in its aim to ensure students in every discipline across three campuses have an opportunity to gain the tools needed to take concrete steps toward implementing practical climate solutions. The institute is named in honour of Brian Lawson and Joannah Lawson in recognition of their transformative $60-million donation to help establish the institute.

We’re proud to be verified through Oceanic Global’s Blue Standard for our efforts to protect our blue planet.

Past Events

Climate Week NYC ‘25

CO-HOSTS:

📍 Debevoise & Plimpton Offies

SF Climate Week ‘25

CO-HOSTS:

📍 Silicon Valley Bank Offices

Climate Week NYC ‘24

CO-HOSTS:

📍 Indie Bio Offices

SF Climate Week ‘24

CO-HOSTS:

📍 Allbirds Offices

NYC Climate Week ‘23

HOST and SPONSORS:

Apply to Speak

Have something to share with carbon newbies? From climate science to individual actions and corporate applications, we’re always looking for engaging speakers for our newbies!

Know an organization that would like to co-host? They can reach us through our Contact page!

"Getting started in climate can be intimidating. The Carbon Newbie Summit aims to create a welcoming space for those new to climate and provide a strong foundation of knowledge and skills for accelerated and impactful climate action."

Founder, Carbon Newbie Summit, Clever Carbon, Women and Climate
SUMMIT SPEAKER AND ORGANIZER

Michelle Li