04/27/2026
New York City ➡️ Lake Placid ➡️ Rochester. SPR crossed the state on !
An eventful and rewarding week ended with a bang at the Climate Solutions Accelerator's annual Climate Solutions Summit. This year’s event centered conversations around energy and power — from the physics that energize our world to the social systems that determine how we live, work, and thrive.
Some highlights:
🦠 Climate change is a "metabolic issue"
Keynote speaker Dr. Nate Hagens likened our current culture to a “mindless superorganism akin to a blind, hungry amoeba.” Confronting the climate crisis necessitates a complete overhaul of our economic and governance systems. Hagens called for advanced policies (researching, building awareness, and constituency for future policies), different prices and incentives (beyond GDP), and “Goldilocks technologies” (technology that uses simpler, local ingredients to serve everyone), as components of this process.
💡 AI pulls from the past — only humans can ideate.
A productive roundtable discussion among marketing and communications folks unpacked the role of AI in our sector. What forms of regulation should we rally around? What are the greatest fears or concerns related to AI? What benefits does it provide? Amidst an underlying tension and fatigue, there was a resounding consensus that humans alone can produce the work that will meet society’s preferences and steer meaningful change.
⚡New York has the energy, and it’s doing the work. At a time when 40% of New Yorkers can’t pay their energy bills, it’s time to crank up the power to meet our climate and affordability goals.
An array of breakout sessions featured climate experts and leaders powering up this work across different sectors. SPR learned how agrivoltaics revitalized a local farm, toured RG&E’s Hydroelectric Station 26, and got into the nitty-gritty about what’s keeping climate-conscious Monroe County residents from reducing their own emissions.
A huge thank you to the Accelerator for an extremely energizing and insightful event!
