CGC Climate Ethics was very successful, with all participants reporting that they enjoyed the roundtable format and learned something from the discussions. The ethical framing was a useful way of approaching the climate issues, and provided a useful thread that flowed through the various areas of discussion.

According to WEL Foundation Patron Marjorie Layden, speaking on the CGC event: “It was wonderful to have such a diverse group of people - climate marchers, leading scientists, policy researchers, philosophers, authors, and thinkers - brought together to discuss the climate crisis on an equal footing. It was especially interesting to have ethics as a lens from which to work.”

The WEL Foundation strongly believes that Ethics are a key missing piece in the struggle to mitigate the climate crisis - hence our support and programmatic input into this inaugural CGC event (and other climate related events listed below.)

Thinking ethically (or adopting a “new ethical thinking” - as Lord Rees mentions in the video above) can empower people to make better decisions when it comes to the climate. What WEL wants is for ethical thinking to become more integrated into people’s lives when they make decisions as consumers, as voting citizens, as business leaders, scientists, or as political leaders. We see this as pushback against, or at least a vital addition to, the prevailing consumerist version of life that has spread across much of the globe. Of course, the next generation is vital for spreading any thinking, so we are focused on doing this across generations - bringing in and connecting with the young people who will take these tools and use them long into the future.

Climate Events with Nexus Global & The Elders

The WEL Foundation also sponsored and helped curate three activities organised by NEXUS GLOBAL - an innovative group that combines next-generation activists and philanthropists to catalyse impact at scale:

• A Global Climate Action Summit which featured NEXUS and The Elders. The high level discussion featured next generation leaders in business and advocacy alongside CNN correspondent Van Jones, former President of the Republic of Ireland Mary Robinson, and senior directors from Google, the Hip Hop Caucus, and Amazon Watch. 

• The WEL Foundation curated a track on Ethics and Leadership at the NEXUS USA summit in Washington DC at the US Institute of Peace. Following the summit WEL hosted a high level dinner with leaders from NEXUS, the Salzburg Global Seminar, and the Rainey center to discuss methods for integrating ethical decision making into global governance in the 21st century.

• The WEL Foundation participated in the Energy, Innovation, and Environment track at the NEXUS global summit, hosted at the United Nations in New York City. WEL Foundation leadership and advisors participated in various activities, including a panel discussion on global currency markets and governance, and a panel discussion on scaling a just and ethical transition to clean energy.