To foster new thinking, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Earth Institute of Columbia University issued a challenge to six thought leaders on climate: Tell us your big ideas on how to change the future by challenging the present. The Colloquium on Forests and Climate: New Thinking for Transformational Change was part of New York’s Climate Week on 24 September 2014. The high-level panel was joined by participants in debating these fresh ideas, charting the future direction of climate research – and envisioning bold initiatives in forestry, landscapes and sustainability to improve the lives of millions.

Those who accepted the challenge were

President Obama’s Science Advisor John Holdren,

Carlos Nobre, Brazil’s National Secretary for Research and Development,

Cheryl Palm, the Director of Research, Agriculture and Food Security Center at Columbia University,

Pushpam Kumar, Chief of UNEP’s Ecosystem Services Economics Unit,

Daniel Nepstad, Executive Director of the Earth Innovation Institute, and

Eduardo Brondízio, Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University Bloomington

Watch their contributions at CIFOR’s video archive