Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, joins Harvard Business School Professor George Serafeim for a discussion about the future of energy. At a pivotal moment in the global energy transition, Pouyanné will reflect on TotalEnergies’ transformation into a multi energy company, the complex trade-offs between decarbonization, energy affordability, energy security, and investor expectations, and the company’s views on the complex and evolving role of climate and energy policy. The conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A.

The Salata Institute’s speaker series, Climate Crossroads: Debating Energy's Next Frontier, brings leading voices to Harvard University to confront the intertwined challenges of climate change and the global energy transition. The Institute is guided by the conviction that durable progress is forged through rigorous, intellectually honest dialogue. By openly presenting competing ideas—including those that provoke vigorous disagreement—the Institute intends to cultivate deeper understanding, illuminate pragmatic pathways, and inspire collaboration.

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability and the Harvard Alumni Association invite you to the next installment of Harvard Voices on Climate Change, a virtual series showcasing Harvard faculty and fellows on different dimensions of the climate challenge.

In this session, Professors Catherine Wolfram, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Joe Aldy, Harvard Kennedy School, both Faculty Co-Leads of the Global Climate Policy Project at Harvard-MIT, will discuss how trade measures such as tariffs, border adjustments, and climate coalitions are shaping the global energy transition. The conversation will examine the intersection of economics, policy, and diplomacy in building a more climate-aligned international trading system.

The Energy Seminar at Harvard hosts weekly seminars with leading voices in climate and energy, offering a unique opportunity to engage with the founders, investors, executives, and policymakers driving decarbonization.

Join on 10/20 for a seminar with Anil Achyuta, partner at Energy Impact Partners, for a presentation titled “Peace time and war time VC.” Anil Achyuta is a Partner at Energy Impact Partners’ Frontier Strategy, where he spearheads global investments in early-stage climate tech startups. He oversees fund strategy, portfolio development, and high-impact investments that align financial returns with climate innovation. Previously, Anil was one of the founding members and Managing Director at TDK Ventures, a global frontier tech corporate venture capital fund. While at TDK, Anil spearheaded numerous investments and exits, and served as an Observer on seven Boards.

What does international law say, if anything, about climate intervention research and deployment? What might it say? What should it say? Join us for a lunch seminar titled “International Law and Climate Interventions — Is There a There There?" featuring Daniel Bodansky, Regents’ Professor of Law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Daniel Bodansky is the author of The Art and Craft of International Environmental Law (Harvard University Press, 2010; 2nd edition co-authored with Harro Van Asselt, OUP, 2014), which received the 2011 Sprout Award from the International Studies Association as the best book that year on international environmental politics. He also co-authored International Climate Change Law (with Lavanya Rajamani and Jutta Brunnee) (OUP 2017), which received the 2018 Certificate of Merit from the American Society of International Law as the best book that year in a specialized area of international law. Prior to joining the ASU faculty in 2010, he taught at the University of Washington Law School from 1989-1999, served as Climate Change Coordinator at the U.S. State Department from 1999-2001, and held the Woodruff Chair of International Law at the University of Georgia from 2002-2010. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, served on the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law from 2001-2011, and is a graduate of Harvard (A.B.), Cambridge (M.Phil.) and Yale (J.D.).