The Future of Energy, Innovation, and Environmental Leadership - Vanderbilt @ NYCW

The event will feature three panels beginning at 1:00 and running until 5:00. There will be ample time for audience Q&A within each panel. Panelists and a precise agenda will be shared with those who RSVP below and posted here. Please note that RSVP does not guarantee admittance so please arrive early to secure your spot! Panel 1: Climate Governance in City Flooding Strategies (in collaboration with the Waterfront Alliance: https://waterfrontalliance.org/) As cities confront more frequent and severe flooding, climate resilience requires additionality to engineering solutions — it demands effective specification of public and private governance, cross-sector collaboration, and innovative approaches to funding and decision-making. Flushing Meadows Corona Park (FMCP) makes this challenge concrete: critical public infrastructure, major private development, recreational assets, and vulnerable communities all intersect within a highly flood-prone landscape. This panel will explore how public agencies, private stakeholders, designers, and community partners can work together to advance nature-based restoration and long-term flood resilience — examining climate governance's role in balancing competing priorities, defining public and private responsibility, and leveraging partnerships to finance resilient infrastructure. The discussion will also surface emerging approaches for quantifying social, environmental, and economic benefits, helping decision-makers evaluate investment beyond traditional cost-benefit frameworks. Panel 2: The Future of Energy and AI Panelists will discuss actionable ways to meet growing electricity demand without ballooning electricity rates, carbon emissions, and reliability risk. Key topics will include how to increase generation in ways that are consistent with government and private climate commitments; opportunities to shift demand volume and timing; opportunities for non-carbon energy in the future grid mix; governing the energy and environmental footprint of AI; and addressing negative polarization against data center development Panel 3: Environmental Progress in an Era of Government Withdrawal Panelists will discuss how the U.S. can maintain progress toward environmental targets even as the federal government and half the states turn away from environmental regulation. The panel will highlight experts from states that have combatted harsh political landscapes prior to the current administration. The goal is to present a realistic view of how decisionmakers can act upon the ambitions discussed throughout climate week.