The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is hosting a virtual Climate Summit on Oct. 7 to highlight the latest science, best practices being deployed in the private sector, and regulatory approaches to combating climate change.

Climate Summit 2020 (https://www.insurance.wa.gov/climate-summit-2020) is a half-day event and is free and open to the public.

The keynote speaker is Fawn R. Sharp, president of the Quinault Indian Nation, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the National Congress of American Indians.

President Sharp is also a member of the We Are Still In Leaders Circle, a consortium of leaders who joined forces in June 2017 to support climate action to meet the Paris Agreement. Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee appointed President Sharp to the Carbon Emissions Reduction Task Force in 2014 to help industries transition away from carbon-based energy sources.

The agenda is grouped into themes:

--Climate change science and effect: Dr. Amy Snover from the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and Dr. Gary Geernaert with the U.S. Department of Energy will describe the latest climate science. Honorable Sherry Goodman with the Environmental Change and Security Program and Polar Institute will discuss climate change and security.

--Climate change and the private sector: Representatives from Amazon, Microsoft, Zurich Insurance and Sironix Renewables will describe their sustainability efforts and best practices. Kara Hurst with Amazon, Michelle Lancaster with Microsoft and Francis Bouchard with Zurich head their organizations’ sustainability efforts. Christoph Krumm is the CEO and founder of Sironix Renewables, which makes sustainable laundry detergent.

--Regulatory and policy development: Hear from policymakers. U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-6th District, and state Sen. Christine Rolfes, D-Kitsap County, will discuss their perspectives on lawmaking and climate change. Hana Vizcarra, staff attorney from Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program, will discuss developments in financial and environmental regulation.