Climate Activists Disrupt Stanford Lecture with Larry Summers

(Stanford, CA, Feb. 25) – A group of eight climate activists disrupted a talk by former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers at Stanford University today, calling out his crimes to people and planet and shaming Stanford for giving him a platform. . The activists from Climate Defiance halted the lecture for 10 minutes while verbally challenging Summers, holding banners and distributing "Larry cash" to draw attention to Summers' past denigration of efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. After 10 minutes, the activists peacefully exited, while encouraging the audience to challenge Stanford's hosting of climate criminal Summers.

Larry Summers has spent decades shaping policies that protect billionaires and polluters while communities suffer. . From his time at the World Bank where he notoriously argued for dumping toxic waste in poor countries to blocking bold climate action under multiple administrations, Summers has been a key architect of the economic system fueling the climate crisis.

As Treasury Secretary under President Clinton, Summers pushed Wall Street deregulation that led to the 2008 financial crash. Later, during the Obama administration, he blocked plans for public green investment banks and large-scale renewable energy projects, decisions that stalled climate action. Summers has lobbied for lifting crude oil export bans , backed corporate-friendly carbon tax plans, and defended institutions such asChase and CitiBank, some of the top financiers of climate destruction.

Summers’ negative influence continues. His aggressive calls for interest rate hikes, framed as a fight against inflation, have sabotaged clean energy projects by driving up borrowing costs, delaying wind farms, solar plants, and EV manufacturing. He has masked corporate greed as “economic growth” while delaying meaningful climate solutions and undermining efforts like the Green New Deal.

He’s at it again as a board member of OpenAI, a technology that already demands massive energy resources, all while communities still wait for clean energy investments.

This protest comes as growing numbers of climate groups mobilize to hold corporations and their enablers accountable. Five years ago, the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats called on Joe Biden to cut ties with Larry Summers. The Revolving Door Project noted “a Larry Summers comeback would threaten climate justice ”.

Larry Summers has recently criticized the Trump administration’s economic policies. At a moment of unprecedented crisis in the federal government, we will not allow Larry Summers to defend his reputation simply by making nice statements.

Rather than simply being placed on a debate stage, Larry Summers must be held accountable for past climate crimes. Students deserve to be educated about the history of this man rather than letting him defend his image without context.

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