As North American cities cope with the impacts of global warming and the economic crisis, leadership for meaningful long-term change remains elusive. Can government take charge of the climate change response despite intensifying political and economic constraints? Is the desire for profit enough to drive businesses to provide a substantial and concrete response? Or is true urban sustainability a question not only of good business practices but economic incentives, strong government regulation, and innovation driven by philanthropy and the nonprofit sector? Either way, how do we get there from here?

Keynote by: Stephen Heintz, President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund

With comments and a cross-sector conversation including: Mayor Gregor Robertson, City of Vancouver Miquela Craytor, Executive Director, Sustainable South Bronx Francis J. Murray, President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and others

Moderated by: David Owens, Staff Writer, the New Yorker

[youtube width="640" height="360"]http://youtu.be/nQuzzboxmGA[/youtube]

Locating Leadership in an Uncertain World is the second program in the Cities Respond to Climate Change series. Con Edison has generously underwritten both this program and a scholarship fund to train the next generation of leaders in sustainable urban development at Milano.