Taking our Foot off the Accelerator: Prospects for Climate Action in 2023

The Fletcher School is offering a unique, limited enrollment, online executive education course on climate diplomacy taught by Dean Rachel Kyte, former World Bank special envoy for climate change and leading expert in both climate diplomacy and the economics of climate action. 

The course begins on May 18, and live sessions with Dean Kyte will be held on June 8, 10, and 11. Registration is currently open.

In this self-paced, virtual course, which includes 10 lectures and three live sessions with Dean Kyte, participants will analyze the opportunities for effective climate diplomacy in the run up to COP28, understand tensions within energy transitions, engage with up-to-the-minute research and analysis on climate action and climate diplomacy, understand current analysis on how to finance climate action and implications for the financial system, create their own action plans, and build their professional networks.

“Climate diplomacy is present at every negotiation table of consequence around the world,” said Dean Kyte. “The ability to participate in and lead these conversations is now essential across all sectors and industries—from finance and development to energy, technology, supply chain, and public policy.”

Without urgent action we are on “a highway to hell with our foot on the accelerator,” says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres; this course, Taking our Foot off the Accelerator: Prospects for Climate Action in 2023, provides executives the climate diplomacy skills and understanding needed to address this crisis.

Through lectures, collaborative analysis, and active discussion, this month-long online course will review what is at stake in climate diplomacy today and offer a deep dive into climate finance—the linchpin around which climate action operates. The class will examine leadership among governments and non-state actors and explore how the United Nations can hold all actors accountable for urgent action. Upon completion of this course, participants will have applied their knowledge by creating a personal action portfolio and will possess a deeper understanding of what needs to happen to achieve the requisite changes in agreements at COP28, the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, 2023.

This course offers an excellent opportunity to engage with Dean Kyte, a renowned global climate finance and diplomacy expert. She is a member of the UN secretary-general’s high-level advisory group on climate action and an advisor to the United Kingdom presidency of the UN climate talks. Additionally, she is co-chair of the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI), and chair of the FONERWA, the Rwanda Green Fund. She frequently advises investors, governments, and non-profits on climate, energy, and finance for sustainable development.

Learn more about Fletcher Executive Education and register here.