President of Environmental Defense Fund to speak at Bioenergy Summit

Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, will deliver the keynote address at the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative’s Bioenergy Summit on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. in Ebling Symposium Hall of the Microbial Sciences Building, 1550 Linden Drive.

Krupp’s talk, which is free and open to the public, will cover current energy policy, as well as innovative ways to encourage companies to adopt environmentally conscious businesses practices.

Since joining the Environmental Defense Fund in 1984, Krupp has become well known for his pragmatic approach to untangling complex environmental problems, often choosing to engage directly with large corporations, build public-private partnerships and employ market forces to achieve environmental ends. He played a central role in the creation of the nation’s first cap and trade system to control air pollutants, codified in the 1990 Clean Air Act to combat acid rain.

More recently, Krupp helped launch the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, whose Fortune 500 members are calling for strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions alongside environmental nonprofit members. Krupp co-authored a New York Times best-selling book, released earlier this year, called “Earth: The Sequel-The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming,” about the innovators who are developing the clean-energy technologies of the future.

The Bioenergy Summit, which runs Oct. 23 — 24, will also feature university experts, state policymakers and innovators from Wisconsin’s private sector. Talks and discussions will focus on ways to build a better energy future, while highlighting Wisconsin’s leadership in the emerging bioeconomy.

The summit’s chief sponsors are the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative and the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Additional sponsors include the UW–Madison, UW Athletics, the State of Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence, Fountainhead Engineering and Glen Oak Lumber.