Jackson Hole Global Forum

What? The Jackson Hole Global Forum will bring together diverse experts to discuss and compare the current challenges and potential opportunities for U.S. coal communities and similar regions around the world to generate new models of economic growth.

Why? Wyoming is the nation’s largest producer of coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, which provides much of the state’s public revenue and jobs. Efforts are already underway in earnest to expand and diversify the state’s economy. Wyoming is a microcosm of the larger macro challenges also facing various regions around the world, including in China, Europe, and the American mid-west. All these regions are striving to generate new sources of growth which reduce carbon emissions and strengthen their economies.

This forum will focus on the particular challenges faced by carbon-intensive areas. It will help provide the global context, new ideas, and new partnerships for communities, businesses, policymakers and concerned citizens in Wyoming and beyond.

Where? Jackson Hole has unique “Power of Place” and is an ideal setting to foster action and new partnerships. Almost thirty years ago Jackson Hole’s inspirational surroundings played a central role in the pre-summit discussions of U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and Soviet Foreign Minister Edward Shevardnadze, which helped bring an end to the Cold War. The Federal Reserve and other major organizations have also chosen Jackson Hole as a site to incubate new ideas and develop innovative approaches.