This year's conference, "The New New Economy: Investing with a Climate Change Lens During Challenging Times," continued the discussion from 2007 to reflect the realities of all that has happened with the economy, politics and the planet in 2008.  Organized and facilitated by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the conference built on the original dialog from '07, but with more scale to enable a broader discussion of issues among a larger audience.

The keynote panel featured The Hon. Al Gore and David Blood who discussed the dangers and opportunities that lay ahead, the political landscape in relation to climate change and the importance of investing with an environmental lens.

Federal Street president John LaPann moderated the panel Adventures in Venture Capital, Private Equity and other Market-Rate Investments which consisted of Wilber James, RockPort Capital Partners, Diana Propper de Callejon, Expansion Capital Partners, and Martin Whittaker, MissionPoint Capital Partners.  They explored the attractiveness of investments that offer energy solutions and sustainability at their core.

Other speakers and panelists included:

Doug Bauer, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Paul Dickinson, Carbon Disclosure Project

Amy Domini, Domini Social Investments, LLC

Bruce Freed, Center for Political Accountability

Bryan Garcia, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Jon Gertner, The New York Times

Joyce Haboucha, Rockefeller & Company

Stewart Hudson, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation

Jon Jensen, The Park Foundation

Van Jones, Green For All

Bruce Kahn, Deutsche Bank

Charly Kleissner, K.L. Felicitas Foundation

Lisa Kleissner, K.L. Felicitas Foundation

Mark Kramer, FSG Social Impact Advisors

Lance Lindblom, Nathan Cummings Foundation

Leslie Lowe, ICCR

Mindy Lubber, CERES

Ken Newcombe, C-Quest Capital

Raul Pomares, Guggenheim Partners

Andy Revkin, The New York Times

Mary Anne Rodgers, David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Theodore Roosevelt, Barclays Capital Corporation

Ted Rouse, Healthy Planet

Tim Smith, Walden Asset Management

Wil Merck, Merck Family Fund

Materials from the event are available upon request.