The Notre Dame 2021 Forum’s keynote event will be hosted by NBC chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson and co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus Sen. Chris Coons, the University announced in a Wednesday press release. The event will be held Sept. 10 from 3-4 p.m in the Jordan Auditorium of the Mendoza College of Business.
This year’s forum, “Care for Our Common Home: Just Transition to a Sustainable Future,” is centered on the environmental, economic, social and political implications of climate change. University President Fr. John Jenkins expressed his gratitude to Coons and Thompson for their willingness to collaborate on the issue.
“As we launch this year’s ND Forum, we are fortunate to hear from Sen. Coons, a leader who has reached across the aisle to address the urgent issues of climate change and just transition,” Jenkins said in the release. “I am deeply grateful to both Sen. Coons and Anne Thompson for providing us with this opportunity to reflect deeply on the next steps we might take, as individuals and as a nation.”
The press release detailed Coon’s impact during his 11 year tenure in the Senate.
“In addition to founding and chairing the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus with Sen. Mike Braun, Coons has led several pieces of bipartisan legislation, including the Energy Savings Through Public-Private Partnerships Act, Partnerships for Energy Security and Innovation Act and the Financing Our Energy Future Act, which would take important steps to support energy efficiency and clean energy research, development and deployment,” the press release said.
Thompson has covered various environmental affairs, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the press release said in describing her career.
“The environmental affairs correspondent for NBC News since 2007, Thompson covered all aspects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and has traveled the globe reporting on alternative fuels, global warming, land usage, new technologies and other topics related to the environment and climate change,” the press release said. “She previously served as chief financial correspondent for NBC News and is the recipient of the Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business and financial journalism.”
In the release, the University also noted the Forum will host additional events throughout the week related to Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment and its international effects.
“University faculty and guest speakers will set the stage for the first Notre Dame Forum keynote with three events Sept. 7 to 9, offering an overview of the encyclical, examining teaching and research on campus connected to the problems outlined by Pope Francis, discussing common work and opportunities, and exploring the role of international cooperation and security,” the press release said.
The Notre Dame Forum was established in 2005, according to the release, and has “invited a campus-wide dialogue about issues of importance to the University, the nation and the larger world.”
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