Connect: Reflections on 2025 & Optimism for 2026
Connect: Reflections on 2025 & Optimism for 2026
December 11 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm CET
Join us as we reflect on one of the most challenging years, share key takeaways from COP30, and explore how our community can drive climate innovation and collaboration in 2026.
2025 has been a year of extremes. We’ve seen climate events redefine what “crisis” means, youth-led protests on social conditions, a mix of setbacks and promising progress in climate targets and ambitions. Against this backdrop, national delegations reconvened at COP30 in Belém, Brazil in an extremely fragmented and uncertain political landscape.
Now, as the year draws to a close, it’s time to gather as a Community and discuss: what are the main lessons from 2025? And how can we turn the tensions of recent years – marked by fear and impatience – into sources of resilience and creativity for a more constructive 2026?
We’ll kick off with an honest and empowering conversation between Christiana Figueres, key negotiator behind the 2015 Paris agreement, and Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of Climate KIC and one of the leading voices in the systems innovation ecosystem. Together, they’ll reflect on the global climate landscape and explore pathways for meaningful action.
Next, we’ll share highlights from our Community and initiatives for 2026, setting the stage for collaborations in the upcoming year.
What can you expect?
- Insights and takeaways from COP30 Brazil and the defining moments of 2025.
- Priorities, anticipations and opportunities in 2026.
- A networking space to share commitments and lay the groundwork for collaborations.
Speakers
- Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner of Global Optimism, Chief Negotiator of the landmark Paris Agreement of 2015
Christiana Figueres is an internationally recognized leader on climate action. In her position as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) she steered the global diplomatic effort that culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Today she is the co-founder of Global Optimism, co-host of the podcast Outrage & Optimism and co-author of “The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis”. - Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of Climate KIC
A creative, energetic and inspirational leader, Dr. Kirsten Dunlop brings to her role a deep conviction in our capacity to learn and evolve into a climate-resilient society, and her over 30 years of experience catalyzing systemic transformations in a career spanning academia, consulting, banking, and the insurance industry, across three continents.. As an expert communicator and enthusiast, she is a sought-after speaker on systems innovation, financial systems change and societal transformation in the context of climate.
