AWE+ an Adaptable World Environment
For over six decades, DRI has tirelessly tackled scientific challenges related to global climate. DRI is unwavering in its commitment to continue this intensive research. But fortifying communities against future devastation requires more than science. It demands the collective resolve of communities: agency staff, elected officials, policymakers, first responders, researchers and scientists, industry leaders, environmentalists and residents working together on measures to advance resilience and adaptability. This is where AWE+ comes into play.
The Adaptable World Environment program (AWE+) is DRI’s global initiative that focuses on the four classical elements of nature: air, water, earth, and fire to advance resilience and adaptability under conditions of changes in land use, population, and climate. Its goal is to address different challenges we face by promoting actionable solutions through interdisciplinary collaboration.
The focus of the August 2024 AWE+ Summit was to bring together a wide range of stakeholders, including scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, non-governmental organizations, and community members, to discuss devastating impacts of wildfires and avenues to quicker recovery. It provided a unique collaborative forum to allow cross-sector viewpoints with the goal of accelerating the transformation toward resiliency in managing risks from wildfires. The key industries attending and speaking included leaders in the areas of utilities, energy, emergency management services, insurance, technology, real estate, etc.
Building on the success of the AWE+ 2024, including the positive feedback we received from so many of you, we will keep this project alive. We’re excited to announce plans for our next AWE+ experience: the AWE+ 2025 Collaborative, to be held in the Fall of 2025 at the DRI Reno campus. More information coming soon.
Highlights from the 2024 Summit
The 2024 AWE+ Summit Executive Report
The summit provided a unique collaborative forum to allow cross-sector viewpoints with the goal of accelerating the transformation toward resiliency in managing risks from wildfires.
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“Perhaps most fundamental is empowerment. It’s not just seeing people as a problem. It’s seeing them as an asset. If we help them have whatever it is they don’t have that is stopping them from being part of the solution, let’s find that. Let’s help them have self-efficacy so they can help solve the problem.” – Sarah McCaffrey, Retired Social Scientist U.S. Forest Service
“Government, industry, NGOs. We can find answers to these challenging problems that exist today to deliver solutions that will have a sustainable environment, a sustainable grid and a sustainable economy for the future.” – Doug Cannon, CEO
NV Energy
“I like to make the case that it’s not just living with fire, but fire is a part of living. Fire is not something out there that we take in, or we have to defend ourselves. Again, it’s always been a part of what makes society work and try to recapture that and find modern analogs for traditional practices.” – Stephen Pyne, Emeritus and Regents Professor Arizona State University
2024 Sponsors
