Mountain Towns 2030 will be hosting an all-star speaker line-up for the annual MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit starting today and running through September 22 in Breckenridge, Colorado.
The Summit’s programming is built around the goal that every attendee will leave with a fresh perspective of what real climate leadership is, a new network of colleagues, and the tools to accelerate climate action planning for communities and businesses.
“We couldn’t be more excited to kick off the Summit in Breckenridge this week,” said Mountain Towns 2030 co-founder Luke Cartin, “Having the key stakeholders from our mountain communities working together to accelerate our collective action is what’s needed to address the climate crisis now”
The Summit will facilitate meaningful conversations, collaboration and action for individuals, communities and businesses. The first day of the Summit features passionate keynotes and climate leaders while the second day is devoted to collaborative workshops with experts and peers to provide tools and tangible solutions to tackle some of the toughest climate challenges facing our mountain communities.
Dr. Michael Mann, a distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University, will kick off the Summit on Day One. Dr. Mann will discuss what attendees can do to fight climate change, emphasizing the urgency and agency in the effort to save the planet from catastrophic warming. Day One will also feature an exciting panel with leaders from Alterra Mountain Company, Boyne Resorts, POWDR and Vail Resorts. During the panel, speakers will share how these leading companies will continue to work together to advance climate objectives, especially around waste, over the next year.
“Solving big problems – like climate change – requires teams working together. That’s why initiatives like the Mountain Collaborative are important,” said Kate Wilson, Senior Director of Sustainability at Vail Resorts and member of the Mountain Collaborative for Climate Action. “We are doing our part to make each of our own operations more sustainable, and by sharing information and best practices with partners, we can make an even greater impact as an industry.”
Day two will start with a session led by Rob Thomas of Climate Candidates where he will share strategies on bringing communities together to accelerate climate action. Following this session will be four workshop blocks throughout the rest of the day. Attendees will have the chance to choose which sessions are most important to attend.
Closing out the second day will be a very impactful talk from National Geographic photographer and filmmaker, Pete McBride. He will share his first-hand account of the climate change-fueled drought and its impacts on the Colorado River Basin. For more than a decade, McBride has documented the river and its tributaries source to sea including an 800-mile trail-less trek on foot through the entire length of the Grand Canyon. With sobering examples of the changing climate and the collective challenges, McBride illuminates the urgency of these issues — but also will share stories of community successes and hope against the odds. This event is open to the public with ticket purchase available here.
The final day will have a half day of programming with a focus on how community and business leaders can prioritize climate change. The Summit will conclude with the introduction of the MT2030 Solutions Project, a climate action framework that accelerates collaboration among communities that aspire to achieve zero carbon emissions and gives attendees tangible next steps upon leaving the summit.
The full 2022 Climate Solutions Summit agenda can be found here.
MT2030 is proudly sponsored by the Alterra Mountain Company, Boyne Resorts, Powdr, Vail Resorts, as well as Hosts Communities, the Town of Breckenridge, Town of Frisco, Summit County, and the towns of Dillon, Silverthorne and Blue River.
For more information about the MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit and to check out the full list of Summit speakers and to register, please click here.
About Mountain Towns 2030
Mountain Towns 2030 (MT2030) empowers mountain and outdoor communities to accelerate
their progress to zero carbon emissions by uniting diverse stakeholders, providing the forum for
collaboration, and placing actionable and proven tools in the hands of community leaders. Founded in Park City, UT in 2019, the organization has built a movement of mountain communities all facing similar impacts and a feeling sense of urgency from the increasing threat of climate change. By sharing expertise, tools, and data, we are building capacity in communities where it otherwise did not exist and accelerating our collective action towards a zero-carbon future. For more information, visit MT2030.org.
