Speakers
Below you find a list of confirmed speakers. More to come!
Julia Steinberger travelled through physics and industrial ecology before landing as an ecological economist. As Professor of Societal Challenges of Climate Change at the University of Lausanne, she explores the relationship between energy use and social outcomes, how much energy is required for decent living, and how provisioning systems can deliver better outcomes with less energy. She was a recipient of a Leverhulme Research leadership Award for her research project 'Living Well Within Limits', investigating how universal human well-being might be achieved within planetary boundaries, and currently co-leads the ERC Synergy Grant 'REAL: A Post-growth Deal', advancing scientific research for realising post-growth transformations. Julia was Lead Author for the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report with Working Group 3.
Joyeeta Gupta is Professor of Environment and Development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. Her work centers on climate justice, equity, and sustainable development, with a particular focus on the impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations and ecosystems. Joyeeta’s research is deeply influenced by her background in law and her commitment to addressing power imbalances in global environmental governance. She has written four books on climate change and global governance and was a lead author on the fourth IPCC report. She co-chaired the Earth Commission, a body that aims to define safe and just boundaries for a thriving planet, and was a recipient of the "Dutch Nobel Prize" (the Spinoza Prize) in 2023.
Philippe Lamberts is a Belgian Green politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2024. During his tenure, he helped secure an amendment to the Fourth Capital Requirements Directive that capped financial-sector bonuses, pushed for the 2015 parliamentary inquiry into tax rulings and preferential corporate treatment, and served on the Brexit Steering Group coordinating the EU’s response to the UK’s withdrawal. As co-President of the Greens/European Free Alliance group from 2014 to 2024, he played a central role in shaping the group’s economic, industrial and climate agenda at the European level. Since leaving Parliament, he has continued to work on EU climate and economic policy, including advising on efforts to meet the EU’s 2030 climate targets and advance climate neutrality by 2050.
Ben Franta is a Senior Research Fellow in Climate Litigation at the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme and the founding director of the Climate Litigation Lab. His research focuses on applying rigorous methods to the practical challenges of climate litigation around the world and has been published in Nature Climate Change and The Guardian, among others, translated into 10 languages, and cited in the US Congressional Record. Ben holds a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University, a separate PhD in History from Stanford University, a JD from Stanford Law School, and an MSc in Archaeological Science from the University of Oxford. He is also a licensed attorney and a member of the State Bar of California.
Vítor Vasconcelos is Associate Professor at the Computational Science Lab at the University of Amsterdam. He works on mathematical and computational models of human collective behavior to anticipate the intended and unintended consequences of interventions in complex social systems. Vítor co-leads the Polder initiative at the Institute for Advanced Study and coordinates the new Master’s program in 'Complex Systems and Policy' at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies. Previously, Vítor was a visiting research scholar at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment and the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, where he also did two postdocs after finishing his PhD in physics.
Clare Farrell is a designer and co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, devoting her creativity, energy, and occasionally her personal liberty to fight against climate and environmental breakdown. She coordinated the creative team that delivered the name, identity, and messaging that Extinction Rebellion set out with in 2018. Clare is currently a stragist at Absurd Intelligence, which is convening and catalyzing a network of interdisciplinary experts to create a mass arts and culture movement that unites us in a desire to build a better world. She is also involved with the Humanity Project, working to create a new democratic culture for the UK to face the 21st century.
Rachel Donald is the creator of Planet: Critical, the podcast and newsletter for a world in crisis with 34,000+ subscribers from 186 countries. Planet: Critical connects the dots of science, art, language, politics, media, philosophy and power to reveal the big picture. Rachel is also the founder of Planet: Coordinate, a documentary series investigating what to do for a world in crisis. Rachel's world exclusive investigations into climate corruption have been published in The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Mongabay, The Intercept, Byline Times and the New Republic.
