OUR PLANET, OUR FUTURE

Nobel Prize Summit

Our Planet, Our Future

26-28 April 2021
Virtual event

Our future depends on our collective ability to become effective stewards of the global commons – the climate, ice, land, ocean, fresh water, forests, soils and rich diversity of life.

The first Nobel Prize Summit brought together Nobel Prize laureates, scientists, policy makers, business leaders, and youth leaders to explore the question: What can be achieved in this decade to put the world on a path to a more sustainable, more prosperous future for all of humanity?

Across three days, the virtual event combined keynotes and lively discussion with live performance and theatre. Speakers explored solutions to some of humanity’s greatest challenges: climate change and biodiversity loss, increasing inequality, and technological innovation in support of societal goals.

The summit asked: what can we learn from our collective response to the global pandemic? And, how can societies distinguish facts from fiction in a new information ecosystem?

Read the call for action produced from the summit: “Our Planet, Our Future. An Urgent Call for Action.”

The Nobel Prize Summit is hosted by the Nobel Foundation and organised by the US National Academy of Sciences in partnership with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Stockholm Resilience Centre/Beijer Institute.

Join the conversation at #NobelPrizeSummit

Watch sessions from the summit

Our Main Stage programme brought together Nobel Prize laureates, scientists, policy makers, artists and activists.

Watch the full programme on the Nobel Prize YouTube channel.

2 Sessions science

Scientific sessions designed for Nobel Prize laureates and scientific experts, but available for all to rewatch.

1 Sessions main

Summit interviews

Summit interview

We speak to one of the Nobel Prize Summit organisers, Marcia McNutt, President of the US National Academy of Sciences, about the summit and what she believes we need to do to tackle the climate crisis.

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Courtesy Marcia McNutt

Summit interview

We speak to one of the Nobel Prize Summit organisers, Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, about the summit and why it’s happening at such a crucial point in time.

Johan in convo

Courtesy Johan Rockström

Summit interview

Nobelprize.org spoke to physics laureate Brian Schmidt about how his dedication to sustainability issues started as well as his hopes and dreams for the 2021 Nobel Prize Summit where Schmidt will be taking part.

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Professor and physics laureate Brian P. Schmidt.

Photo: Jamie Kidston/ANU.

Summit interview

We speak to Vidar Helgesen, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation and previously Norway’s Minister of Climate and the Environment, about how the Nobel Prize and its laureates can help us tackle the challenges our planet faces.

Vidar Helgesen

Vidar Helgesen, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

Summit interview

Nobel Prize laureate and summit speaker Peter Doherty talks to us about the challenges our planet faces – and the lessons the pandemic has taught us about facing them.

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Professor and medicine laureate Peter Doherty.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Henrik Jansson

Speaker highlights

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020
Jennifer A. Doudna

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Brittany Hosea-Small

Nobel Peace Prize 2007
Al Gore

Photo: Ken Opprann

Discover the summit

Discover more about our Main Stage programme bringing together Nobel Prize laureates, scientists, policy makers, artists and you.

2 Sessions science

Join our partner events turning the summit discussions into practical solutions. Separate registration is required.

3 Sessions impact

Nobel Prize Summit webinars

Ahead of the Nobel Prize Summit we hosted a number of webinars that took a look at the summit themes. Learn more below.

 

“If we start now, this decade can become the turning point that puts us on course toward a more vibrant, viable, and equitable future for humanity.”

Vidar Helgesen, executive director of the Nobel Foundation
Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Marcia McNutt, president of the US National Academy of Sciences

Nobel Prize Summit

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