About the Summit

The Global Risk and Stabilization Summit 2026 convenes leaders across domains and disciplines who are working to better predict, prepare for, and prevent catastrophic climate risks that threaten to drive large-scale disruption across both Earth’s physical systems and many downstream economic and societal systems.

Dates

October 12-13, 2026

Location

Reykjavík, Iceland

Registration Deadline

September 13, 2026

Join us in Iceland

Earth systems stabilization, which concerns efforts to better understand catastrophic climate risks and to advance efforts to address them, is dynamically emergent, as non-profit organizations, private sector companies, and governments are increasingly dedicating resources to understanding the risks, assessing and developing response options, as well as to deliberating on policy and governance questions. Still, the field remains critically underfunded relative to mitigation, adaptation, and carbon removal, as well as to what it needs to achieve its objectives; currently, it receives less than 0.1% of all climate philanthropy. The field also lacks the institutional architecture needed for it to grow and mature in a sound, well-coordinated fashion. Whether with respect to scientific efforts, programs focused on research and development of response options, or governance and policy, gaps are readily discernible and key capabilities are imaginable—what comes next is building them.

Organized by the Climate Emergencies Forum, the Global Risk and Stabilization Summit 2026 is a global working convening designed to chart the course for stabilization for the rest of this decade and beyond. It will bring together the operators across domains and disciplines who are working on stabilization to align on the field’s near-term goals and development priorities, work through important debates and disagreements, and build the networks needed to grow the field by orders of magnitude in both financial and human capital terms by 2035. The range of participants will include scientists, philanthropic funders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, Indigenous leaders, youth networks, and Global South organizations, all of whom are actors who rarely share the same room but whose engagement is critical for legitimacy and who will bring vital, unique perspectives to the table. The current moment is an important inflection point for the field, and this Summit exists to set it up for success.

Renaissance Philanthropy and ARC will host the summit on October 12–13, 2026 in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Risk Clusters

Four clusters organize the summit's working sessions. Each pairs Earth-system mechanisms with the human systems through which disruption cascades.

Arctic Destabilization

Sea Level Rise &
Ice Sheets

Biosphere, Ecosystems,
& Weather

Earth’s Declining
Reflectivity

Core Objectives

1. Synthesise knowledge on catastrophic climate risks
Develop a coherent, high-resolution understanding of catastrophic climate risks and the many other systems, whether economic, social, or otherwise, they will impact, integrating the latest climate science, active research and development of potential response options, as well as ongoing conversations and debates on governance and policymaking and participants’ lived experiences.

2. Enhance cross-field visibility
There’s more active research, development, discussion, debate, and activity in the emergent stabilization field than many likely realize. The Summit will create more visibility across domains, disciplines, and geographies and provide participants with a more comprehensive appreciation and understanding of the current field.

3. Identify decision-relevant pathways
Clarify what decisions need to be made, what the most critical near-term field development needs and objectives are across science, research, governance, and policy, identify who's responsible for them, and establish concrete goals.

4. Surface key debates and work through them
Rather than smooth over the difficult debates and disagreements, the Summit will encourage working through them head-on, both to illuminate the many areas in which participants likely already agree and to identify which questions and issues are solvable by direct, dedicated communication and discussion.

5. Promote enduring coordination across institutions
Rather than smooth over the difficult debates and disagreements, the Summit will encourage working through them head-on, both to illuminate the many areas in which participants likely already agree and to identify which questions and issues are solvable by direct, dedicated communication and discussion.

The Summit also directly follows the Arctic Circle Assembly, allowing us collectively to continue momentum and to learn from many of the leaders already gathered to discuss the implications of catastrophic risks on the region's future, which is a useful case study in the urgency and cross-sector implications posed by these risks, as well as for the need for accelerated action. Nordic governments are among the most actively engaged in addressing catastrophic risks and tipping points, making this a natural setting for the conversation. Reykjavík is also a relatively convenient meeting point for a truly global convening, bridging North America, Europe, and beyond.

Speakers

Plenary and cluster speakers confirmed to date. The full program of contributors will be announced in September.

Dr. Sarah Kapnick
Global Head of Climate Advisory, J.P. Morgan

Oliver Morton
Senior & Briefings Editor, The Economist

Dr. Joshua Elliott
Chief Scientist, Renaissance Philanthropy

Kristinn Hróbjartsson
Co-Founder & Director, Varða

Melissa Barnes
Executive Director, Arête Glacier Initiative

Dr. Charlotte DeWald
Founder & Director, Arctic Stabilization Initiative

Dr. Lisa Dilling
Associate Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund

Sandy Trust
Director of Sustainability Risk, Baillie Gifford

Laurie Laybourn
Executive Director, Strategic Climate Risks Initiative

Dr. Danielle Potocek
Deputy Director & Senior Scientist, Warming-Induced Emissions at Spark Climate

Kelly Erhart
Director of Strategy & Programs, Outlier Projects

See more speakers

Program

Two days in Reykjavík. Day One groups people by risk cluster; Day Two crosses clusters by capability and closes on governance and commitments.

DAY ONE – RISK CLUSTERS

October 12, 2026

9:00 - 10:30

Opening plenary: the state of catastrophic climate risk

Eldborg

10:45 - 12:15

Cluster sessions: Arctic destabilization; sea level rise & ice sheets

Kaldalón

13:15 - 14:45

Cluster sessions: Biosphere & weather; Earth's declining reflectivity

Norðurljós

15:00 - 16:30

Sensemaking gaps: monitoring, early warning, translation failures

Eldborg

17:00 - 18:30

Reception and poster session

Foyer

DAY TWO – CAPABILITIES, GOVERNANCE, & LICENSE

October 13, 2026

9:00 - 10:30

Preparedness & prevention: intervention families and readiness

Eldborg

10:45 - 12:15

Modelling, observation and decision-support infrastructure

Kaldalón

13:15 - 14:45

Cascades across food, finance and state capacity

Norðurljós

15:00 - 16:00

Who stewards the response? Institutional design options

Eldborg

16:15 - 17:15

Legitimacy & license: permission to research without permission to deploy

Kaldalón

17:30 - 18:30

Synthesis: shared state of the field, shared agenda for action, closing commitments

Eldborg

Join us in Iceland

Travel Support

To support diverse participation, travel funding and compensation are available for Indigenous, youth, and Global South leaders, as well as others who may face barriers to covering travel costs to attend the CEF Summit. We are no longer accepting travel support applications.

Supporters

Sponsors

Partners

The 2026 Report
The report offers a high-resolution synthesis of efforts to better predict, prepare for, and prevent catastrophic climate risks, across four pillars and a synthesis.

1 SENSEMAKING
2 PREPAREDNESS & PREVENTION
3 GOVERNANCE
4 LEGITIMACY & SOCIAL LICENSE
5 SYNTHESIS

Coming Soon

© Advanced Research for Climate Emergencies (ARC)

ARC funds cutting-edge research and strategic partnerships to predict, prevent, and prepare for catastrophic climate risks.

arc@renphil.org

ARC
Renaissance Philanthropy