Draft:Adam Metzger

Adam Metzger (born August 27, 1990), also known as Adam Met, is an American activist, PhD, writer, and Professor in the fields of sustainability and human rights. He is the founder and executive director of Planet Reimagined and plays bass in the band AJR. Adam is a regular contributor to CNN, Time Magazine, and Rolling Stone.

Planet Reimagined
In 2018 Adam Metzger founded the non profit Planet Reimagined and has remained their Executive Director. The organization is training the climate leaders of the future with customized fellowships that teach researchers and advocates how to work together for measurable impact. By harnessing the power of media and entertainment, Planet Reimagined has reached over 100 million people a year, turning research-driven thought into collective action, fueling positive change for the planet and the people who call it home.The organization has worked across climate disciplines in the areas of energy, transportation, farming, rivers, oceans, waste, ESG, and more. He is the host of environmental podcast “Planet Reimagined” (30, 31, 38, 65), in which a tree is planted for each new subscriber (33) and has featured guests including former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, economist and Columbia University professor Jeff Sachs, Costa Rican Diplomat Christina Figueres, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, and more (52).

Energy Policy
Adam Met has worked extensively with The White House, and U.S. Congress to reach bipartisan agreements on clean energy policy (79). He originated the idea of co-locating renewable energy on oil and gas lands across the Western United States (78). He has worked with EPA Administrator Michael Regan and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm (77), and as a surrogate proponent for the Inflation Reduction Act.

Activism
In 2023, Adam was named as one of Worth Magazine’s Worthy 100 (82). Metzger is a Sustainable Development Programme Advocate for the United Nations (9, 8) and has written on the topic of sustainability for Time Magazine (75), Rolling Stone (72), Billboard (7, 41), Fortune (11), Mashable, (10), and has spoken on the topic for MTV (71) in effort to expand public knowledge on sustainability and the environment. Adam is a regular climate expert on CNN offering unique viewpoints on climate impacts around the world (74, 80, 81). Adam has spoken at Columbia University (23) and New York University (24) on human rights and sustainability (23, 24). In 2021, he collaborated with NowThis News to show how New York City is investing in climate resiliency and sustainability (48). He has presented and hosted at various summits including Concordia (58,59), Techonomy (60,64), Beyond Sport (61) and the Social Good Summit (62,63).

In spring of 2021, his TED Talk ‘Making Climate Cool Again: Re-Exciting the Movement,’ discussed the intersection of music, marketing, technology, academics, policy and government, provided tools for fans to get involved in the music industry to engage in action against climate change (51,53).

Music
Metzger, along with his brothers Jack and Ryan, began their music careers while sharing an apartment in Chelsea before they began to perform live in 2006 by busking in Central Park and Washington Square Park in New York City (4).

AJR released their charity single “It’s On Us” in March 2017 in support of the It’s On Us social movement and campaign created by Barack Obama and White House Council on Women and Girls to raise awareness and fight against sexual assault on college campuses for both men and women (25, 26, 40). All proceeds from the song were donated back to the campaign (27). AJR released Burn The House Down in 2018 in response to current political and social movements. The song was picked up as an activist anthem for March For Our Lives, the gun control legislation movement that was formed after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland Florida. The band has been vocal about their plans to make touring eco-friendly and sustainable (49,73).

In 2020, AJR released the single “Bang!” in February (12), which reached the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at Number 9 in January 2021, making it the band’s first entry in the top 10 of the chart (17, 20). “Bang!” won Top Rock Song at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards and is currently certified 2x Platinum (50,67) by the RIAA (51,67). The band performed at the Biden/Harris pre-inauguration We The People virtual concert alongside Fall Out Boy on January 17, 2021 (28, 29, 32).

Personal Life
He has a bachelor's degree from Columbia University where he studied business and philosophy as well as a master’s degree in Constitutional Religious Law from New York University, where he earned the Graduate Interdisciplinary Academic Excellence Award.

In 2021, Adam earned his PhD (43) in International Human Rights Law and Sustainable Development with a thesis titled, ‘Stakeholder Approaches to Human Rights and Development in the Commercial Context’ (43), from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom (1, 2, 38, 39, 41). He was a Human Rights Fellow at Columbia University (23).

Adam is currently an adjunct professor at Columbia University teaching Climate Campaigning and Communications in the School of International and Public Affairs(76).