What a time to be alive…. 2026 feels like a pivotal moment for humanity – AI safety concerns as we approach singularity, human civilization poised to extend beyond Earth to the moon and other planets, and a climate crisis on our home planet that we’ve started to address, but are far from solving. With Moore’s Law, and the compounding speed of technological advancement, the rate of change we’re living through day-to-day is unprecedented. Today’s moment demands our immediate attention to make smart decisions that will deliver the future we want to see for our world – a net zero future. 

It’s been just over one decade since the first Net Zero Conference in 2014. Now at our 13th annual event, we’re addressing this moment of conflicting updates in the climate space: 

• While renewables are projected to become the world’s largest source of electricity generation in 2026 (yay!), global fossil fuel investment and production have continued at enormous scale with demand growing in 2025: oil by 0.7%, methane gas by 1%, and coal by 0.4% (ugh).
• While China, the world’s largest emitter, successful reduced emissions by 1% in the past year (yay!), global CO2 emissions reached a record high in 2025 (up 1% from 2024), and atmospheric CO2 increased to 425 ppm, about 53% above preindustrial levels (ugh).
• While solar and wind are now the cheapest forms of energy in human history (yay!), global energy demand keeps growing faster than decarbonization can keep up with (ugh). 

Considering the scale of the problem, we’re making fast progress, but we have a long way to go. It’s been 266 years since industrialization began in 1760. Humanity created the climate crisis, and we can solve it. It’s just a matter of how fast. I asked AI when it predicted humanity will get all industries in every country to stop the growth of atmospheric CO2 and achieve net zero emissions. It said by 2060. That’s 34 years from now. 

While it’s great to begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, this does not mean we’ll get there without pain. Due to our delayed reaction time in previous decades, we’ve unfortunately already locked in significant global warming that will yield many more human caused climate disasters and tragic loss of life in the coming decades. 

The speed at which we implement further climate solutions is paramount. We understand the problem, we have solutions today that will solve it, the transition has already started, and now it’s just a matter of “turning the ship” to rebuild every building – and every industry – to achieve net zero. It will take a few decades, but we’ll get there. 

How fast can we mobilize, and can we inspire others to help us get there even faster? Let’s talk about it, that’s why we’re all here. You Net Zero Heroes are at the forefront of solving one of humanity’s greatest challenges – thank you so much!