Alexander A. Likhotal

Alexander Likhotal served as adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev for many years and is currently the President of Geneva-based Green Cross International. He is a member of prestigious organizations such as the Club of Rome, the World Academy of Art and Science, the Library of Alexandria Board of Trustees, and has launched internationally acclaimed initiatives such as the Earth Dialogues Forum and Green Cross International's global campaign for the Right to Water.

Professor Likhotal served as policy adviser to the President of the USSR and has held academic positions at Northeastern University (Boston), the Institute of European Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), and the Security Dialogue Journal (Oslo). He has utilized his political acumen in swaying governments about the importance of environmental agenda and, under his leadership, Green Cross International has grown into a leading environmental organization with 30 national organizations around the world.

As an insider of the process that brought the cold war to its end and as an influential environmental leader on the world stage, Professor Likhotal is ideally positioned to advise organizations around the world on how to lead the change in today's crisis-ridden world. He discusses the inadequacy of current political systems to address global challenges and advocates for a transformation in global crisis management paradigms. His talks focus on sustainable development, the impact of COVID-19 on global and local scales, the future of international relations post-pandemic, and the principles motivating Russian foreign and defense policy. Likhotal emphasizes the need for innovative approaches to tackle the climate change crisis, promoting market-driven solutions and international cooperation.

Tailoring his engaging presentations to focus on clients' objectives, Likhotal uses numerous examples of strong leadership and effective decision-making to inspire and challenge audiences worldwide. He argues for a transformation of the economic model to decouple economic growth from the use of energy and materials, highlighting the potential for business to drive environmental and social change.

Are You Leading Change or Is Change Leading You?

With business the direct or indirect cause of most ecological challenges, it is becoming increasingly evident that it is also the only institution left on the planet that is large enough, well-managed enough, and resourceful enough to solve the problems facing us. Businesses must now ask themselves: Are we a barrier to sustainability? Or are we its greatest hope?

The Competitive Advantage of Sustainability

The agenda of sustainability and corporate responsibility is not only central to business strategy, but it is becoming a critical driver of business growth. How well and how quickly businesses respond to this agenda will determine which companies succeed and which will fail in the next few decades.

Seizing the Opportunity of the Climate Change Crisis

Winston Churchill famously said that "a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Seized as an opportunity, the climate change crisis could be the catalyst for a new era of market-driven innovation in alternative energy, conservation, sustainable development, and international cooperation. Thankfully, the business community is increasingly ready to be the movers and shakers in this process, and will play a role in shaping the future, rather than waiting to be pushed into it.

Transforming Threats Into Opportunities: Climate Change and Its Political and Business Implications

Leaders and the general public are exposed to conflicting views and are confused about the realities of climate change, about the validity of climate science, about the economic costs and benefits of action, and about the human and social implications for the future. This confusion arises partly from the difficulty of explaining the complex realities of climate change to non-scientists, but it cannot be resolved by increasingly sophisticated presentations of the science. Keynote speaker Alexander Likhotal explains that what is needed is an authoritative explanation of the realities, of the risks and of the opportunities ahead, and of the action required in terms that ordinary people (including most politicians) can understand.

Growth in Transition: Sustainable Development - Fiction or Challenge?

In this fascinating speech, Alexander Likhotal explains that we are at an inflection point in the world today. There is a convergence of themes – seemingly disconnected – that is now being understood to be integral and urgent to our very survival. The world is headed into a perfect storm of an interconnected financial, ecological, and social crisis. Almost all forward-looking assessments of emerging issues and threats demonstrate that business as usual and incremental improvements will not be sufficient to take us to a world blessed by equitable prosperity, safety, security, and contentment. And time is not on our side.

The Global Water Crisis: Lacking Resources or Missing Vision?

Every year, more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war. At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease. Water played a key role in 37 wars during the last 60 years. By 2025, a third of the world's population will lack water. However, the world's water crisis is not related to the physical scarcity of water, but to unbalanced power relations, poverty.