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2026 MI Healthy Climate Conference
2026 MI Healthy Climate Conference
Over 700 attendees came together on Tuesday, April 21 for the fourth annual MI Healthy Climate Conference at the Huntington Place in Detroit. Under the theme “Advancing Climate Action Together,” speakers discussed topics related to the implementation of the MI Healthy Climate Plan.
Former governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, kicked off the conference as a morning keynote speaker. He applauded Michigan’s ongoing efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Morning keynote: Jay Inslee, Former Governor of Washington State
In his address, Inslee shares insights on state-level climate leadership, clean energy innovation, and the urgency of accelerating climate action across the United States.
Drawing from his experience leading Washington’s climate initiatives, he highlights opportunities for collaboration, policy advancement, and economic growth through a clean energy transition.
EGLE’s Director, Phil Roos, provided welcoming remarks and highlighted the Office of Climate and Energy’s industrial decarbonization initiative. Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the fourth MI Healthy Climate Challenge: Go Big, Go Clean grant opportunity, which funds studies, assessments, analyses, and related planning work that support industrial decarbonization at Michigan facilities.
MI Healthy Climate Challenge: Go Big, Go Clean
The morning included four dynamic mainstage presentations on the intersection of climate and health, affordability, and environmental justice, led respectively by Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan, Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome of the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), Dr. Tony Reames, Director of the University of Michigan's Detroit Sustainability clinic, and Amir Kirkwood, CEO of Justice Climate Fund.
Attendees participated in breakout sessions covering a variety of topics including energy storage, industrial decarbonization, climate adaptation, electric school buses, and climate finance, and actively engaged in an interactive financial insecurity simulation.
Dr. John Kotcher, Director of George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication, delivered the afternoon keynote, highlighting his research on effective ways to talk about climate action.
Afternoon keynote: Communicating Climate Action with Impact - John Kotcher
Since 2007, George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communication has helped change the way local media, communities, and organizations talk about climate change. The Center studies audiences, fosters trusted messengers, and increases public action toward climate solutions.
The conference closed with an inspiring round of lightning talks presented by youth climate leaders who shared ways they are advancing climate action in their schools, communities, and across the state.
Watch the 2026 Climate Conference plenary recordings
To read more, check out the MI Environment article “Fourth annual MI Healthy Climate Conference celebrates and inspires.”