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

Main Stage

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.

Academic Science Sessions

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

Our Planet, Our Future. An Urgent Call for Action.

Read the statement inspired by the discussions at the 2021 Nobel Prize Summit, issued by the Steering Committee and co-signed by Nobel Prize laureates and experts.

Summit interviews

Summit interview

“We have to make doing the right thing easy”

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.

National academies911432 20 20 min (002) — Courtesy Marcia McNutt

Summit interview

“We still have a chance to bring about a safe future”

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

“We have to stand up and do everything we can”

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.

Brian Schmidt horizontal — Professor and physics laureate Brian P. Schmidt.

Photo: Jamie Kidston/ANU.

Summit interview

“The Nobel Prize has a strong role to play”

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.

Summit interview

“There are possibilities for change”

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.