This year marks the tenth Carnot Prize, awarding substantial contributions to energy policy. Our 2026 recipient is John Kerry, former U.S. senator, secretary of state, and presidential climate envoy.
Kerry, a long-time advocate for climate crisis diplomacy and solutions that achieve a just and sustainable energy transition, is currently a Visiting Distinguished Statesman for global climate and oceans affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Prior to this role, he served as the 68th secretary of state under President Obama and as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate under President Biden. For nearly thirty years, he served as a U.S. senator, representing Massachusetts.
Throughout decades of public service, Kerry has been instrumental in forging domestic and international cooperation to address the defining energy and environmental challenges of our lifetime. His leadership as secretary of state helped secure the landmark Paris Agreement, and he continues to mobilize governments, businesses, investors, and communities to pursue ambitious climate and clean energy solutions.
Included in the ceremony will be a lecture in his honor by Cary Coglianese, Edward B. Shils Professor of Law at Penn Carey Law.
A reception will immediately follow the program.
Speakers:
John Kerry
Cary Coglianese
Edward B. Shils Professor of LawCary Coglianese is the Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and professor of political science at the Carey School of Law. He also is the director of the Penn Program on Regulation and a faculty fellow at the Kleinman Center.
J. Larry Jameson
President, University of Pennsylvania J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, was named President of the University of Pennsylvania in March 2025 after serving as Interim President since December 2023. He previously led Penn Medicine as Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System.
Sanya Carley (Moderator)
Vice Provost for Climate
Sanya Carley is the Vice Provost for Climate, Mark Alan Hughes Faculty Director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, and Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.