Big Bets for Climate Action

Honoring 111 years of making opportunity universal

The Rockefeller Foundation is celebrating its 111th year of promoting the well-being of humanity. To celebrate these milestones, we hosted an event on Big Bets for Climate Action, in partnership with CNN, on Thursday, May 30, 2024, from 2:00-5:00 pm ET. The event featured fireside chats and remarks providing valuable insights into the intersection of climate change, diplomacy, policy, creativity, and intergenerational collaboration.

Watch the RF111 Livestream

Agenda:

2:00-2:10 PM
Opening Remarks and Welcome
Speakers: Dr. Raj Shah (The Rockefeller Foundation) and Becky Anderson (CNN)

2:10-2:40 PM
Public Diplomacy Fit for the 21st Century
Speaker: Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield (U.S. Mission to the United Nations)
Moderator: Dr. Raj Shah (The Rockefeller Foundation)

2:40-3:15 PM
Funding a Green Future Beyond COP28
Speakers: Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi (COP28 Presidency/ALTÉRRA),Maryanne Hancock (Y Analytics) and David Giordano (BlackRock)
Moderator: Becky Anderson (CNN)

3:15-3:20PM
Building a Climate Movement with Project Dandelion
Speaker: Pat Mitchell (Connected Women Leaders)

3:20-3:30 PM
Break

3:30-3:50 PM
Empowering African Climate Pioneers
Speakers: Ledama Masidza (CNN Academy) and Kate Kallot (Amini AI)
Moderator: Bill Weir (CNN)

3:50-4:20 PM
A Seat at the Table and the Voice of a Generation
Speakers: Nile Rodgers (We Are Family Foundation), Sneha Revanur (Encode Justice), and Peter Selfridge (SAP)
Moderators: Becky Anderson (CNN) and Julia Chatterley (CNN)

4:20-4:55 PM
Making Green Good for All
Speaker: Vice President Al Gore
Moderator: Bill Weir (CNN)

4:55-5:10 PM
LIVE Performance by Nile Rodgers

Featured Speakers:

H.E. Majid Al Suwaidi
Director-General, COP28

 

 

Becky Anderson
Managing Director of CNN Abu Dhabi and Host of Connect the World with Becky Anderson

 

 

Julia Chatterley
CNN International Anchor and Correspondent and Host of First Move with Julia Chatterley

 

 

David Giordano
Managing Director and Global Head of Climate Infrastructure, BlackRock

 

 

Al Gore
Former Vice President of the United States

 

 

Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Representative of the United States to the United Nations

 

 

Maryanne Hancock
CEO of Y Analytics and Partner, TPG

 

 

Kate Kallot
Founder and CEO of Amini

 

 

Ledama Masidza
Marine Conservationist, Indigenous Food Systems Advocate, and CNN Academy Fellow

 

 

Pat Mitchell
Editorial Director at TEDWomen and Co-Founder of Connected Women Leaders

 

 

Sneha Revanur
Founder and President of Encode Justice

 

 

Nile Rodgers
Grammy-Winning Musician, Producer, and Co-Founder of the We Are Family Foundation

 

 

Peter Selfridge
Global Head of Government and Public Affairs for SAP

 

 

Dr. Rajiv J. Shah
President of The Rockefeller Foundation

 

 

Bill Weir
CNN Chief Climate Correspondent

 

 

Download the full list of speakers and their bios here.

Lasting Impact

From our very first grant—to the American Red Cross more than a century ago—through to today’s vast array of initiatives, The Rockefeller Foundation has built a reputation for making big bets that spur breakthroughs in science and understanding and leverage unlikely partnerships to deliver transformative change. Our list of achievements over the last 110 years is long.

Since 1913, we have worked with grantees and partners in:

Our Current Focus Areas

We improve lives and the planet, and unleash human potential, through innovation. We are dedicated to the principle that all individuals – dignified and resilient as they are – have the right to health, food, power and economic mobility. We seek to advance those goals with a better use of science and data and through collaboration with broad and diverse partners and grantees. By pursuing the big bets humanity needs, The Rockefeller Foundation is making opportunity universal and sustainable.

  • Health Ensuring healthy futures for people and planet
  • Power We accelerate access to and consumption of reliable, renewable electricity in underserved, low-income communities worldwide, empowering hundreds of millions of people while building the climate-smart energy system of the future
  • Food Advancing a more nourishing, regenerative and equitable food system
  • U.S. Economic Opportunity Our vision is that every working person in America should be able to meet the basic needs of their families – and have a path to a better future
  • Innovation We seek solutions to the world’s great inequities at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation
  • Innovative Finance Addressing global development challenges by unlocking private capital for impact at scale
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