Gus Speth: The Big Lesson from Four Decades of Federal Climate Failure

Listen in as Gus Speth speaks about insights from his book, _They Knew_. As early as the Carter Administration, in which Speth served, experts in and out of government argued for climate action, urgings well-covered in the media at the time. Six administrations followed, with next to nothing being done to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and much being done to sustain them. There are lessons to be learned for the future, especially one big lesson.

Gus Speth: In 2009, he completed his decade-long tenure as Dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  From 1993 to 1999, Gus Speth was Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the U.N. Development Group.  Prior to his service at the U.N., he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute; professor of law at Georgetown University; chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality (Carter Administration); and senior attorney and cofounder of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Among his awards are the National Wildlife Federation’s Resources Defense Award, the Natural Resources Council of America’s Barbara Swain Award of Honor, a 1997 Special Recognition Award from the Society for International Development, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Environmental Law Institute and the League of Conservation Voters, the Blue Planet Prize, the Thomas Berry Great Work Award of the Environmental Consortium of Colleges and Universities, and the Thomas Berry Award of the Forum on Religion and Ecology.

Speth spoke with UVM on January 28th, 2022. Read more about Gus: https://www.uvm.edu/gund/profiles/gus-speth

Learn more about the Gund Institute: www.uvm.edu/gund

Explore Gund events: www.uvm.edu/gund/events