Abstract: How can artificial intelligence (AI) help respond to the climate crisis? In which sectors can AI make the most difference? Will the potential benefits of using AI to reduce greenhouse gas emissions be outweighed by emissions increases from power demand for AI? The second edition of the Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (November 2024) explores these questions and more. Please join the lead authors of the Roadmap for a presentation of their findings and discussion on these topics.

Bio:  David Sandalow is the Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) and Co-Director of the Energy and Environment Concentration at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He has served in senior positions at the White House, State Department and U.S. Department of Energy. He came to Columbia from the U.S. Department of Energy, where he served as Under Secretary of Energy (acting) and Assistant Secretary for Policy & International Affairs. Prior to serving at DOE, Mr. Sandalow was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has served as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment & Science and a Senior Director on the National Security Council staff.  Mr. Sandalow is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Yale College.

Bio: Dr. Julio Friedmann is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA. He currently serves as Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct. He has served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and clean coal deployment. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist, where he worked for 15 years. In addition to close partnerships with many private companies and NGOs, Julio has worked with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Treasury.

Bio: Alp Kucekelbir  is an expert in machine learning and probabilistic programming. He has over 6000 academic citations and has published multiple papers with David Blei and Andrew Gelman. He is an adjunct professor of computer science at Columbia University and leads the entrepreneurship efforts at Climate Change AI. Alp received his Ph.D. from Yale University, where he won the best thesis award.

The Stanford Energy Seminar has been a mainstay of energy engagement at Stanford for nearly 20 years and is one of the flagship programs of the Precourt Institute for Energy. We aim to bring a wide variety of perspectives to the Stanford community – academics, entrepreneurs, utilities, non-profits, and more.

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