The San Diego World Affairs Council Presents
Wednesday June 18, 2025
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Royal India Miramar
8990 Miramar Road #200 ,San Diego, CA 92126
About the Program
Exciting program updates!
The San Diego World Affairs Council is honored to welcome Ambassador Marc Knapper, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, and Ambassador Brian McFeeters, former U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia and current Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director at the US-ASEAN Business Council, to San Diego as part of the Council’s annual Ambassadors’ Tour.
Ambassadors Knapper and McFeeters have graciously accepted our invitation to address the Council and will offer opening remarks reflecting on the evolving U.S.-ASEAN relationship. Their insights will highlight key regional developments and emphasize the growing significance of people-to-people connections in strengthening mutual understanding and advancing cooperation.
After their opening remarks we will move on to the Keynote presentation
by acclaimed UCSD Professor David Victor.
More on his timely lecture below:
These are turbulent times—perhaps historic in scale. Huge policy changes regarding US decarbonization, green energy investment, and global warming/climate research are being largely eclipsed in the media by tariff news and the geopolitical transformation of the global order being driven by the Trump 2.0 White House.
Nevertheless, Trump 2.0 environmental policy changes are likely to be consequential – for the US and the planet. Those changes may also come to have geopolitical implications. New global leadership may emerge. Furthermore, some Trump 2.0 shifts seem likely to find ready audiences in other parts of the world.
Drawing on his deep experience and awareness, David Victor will discuss the impacts and consequences of US policy changes toward global warming and decarbonization. Beyond discussing the impact of the of the first five months of Trump 2.0, David will step back and take the long view…across the arc of a decade or two – or three. What has happened…and where do we go from here? What will be the impact of the Trump tariffs? Will geo-engineering emerge as a tool for addressing climate change? Will new meaning be given to an old US Marine Corps proverb: “Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome”?
Following Dr. Victor's presentation there will be ample time for audience questions.
About Current Ambassador Marc Knapper
Marc E. Knapper is a member of the Senior Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State and the Ambassador to Vietnam. He most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan from August 2018 to July 2021. Prior to assuming this position, Marc was Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in Seoul from 2017 to 2018 and Deputy Chief of Mission from 2015 to 2016. Earlier assignments include Director for India Affairs, Director for Japan Affairs, and Seoul, Baghdad, Tokyo, and Hanoi. Marc is a recipient of the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, the nation’s highest diplomatic honor. Marc has also received a Presidential Meritorious Service Award and the Department of State’s Linguist of the Year Award. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, and also studied at the University of Tokyo. Marc speaks Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese.
About Former Ambassador Brian McFeeters
Ambassador Brian D. McFeeters (ret.) joined the US-ASEAN Business Council on October 1, 2023, as the Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director. From Singapore, he supports the Council's 175 members and supervises Council matters in the ASEAN region, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. During his extensive career, McFeeters has made valuable contributions to diplomatic missions worldwide, serving in critical positions in countries including Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia, and advancing U.S. business interests multilaterally at the U.S. Missions to the European Union, in Brussels, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in Paris.
About David G. Victor
David G. Victor is a professor of innovation and public policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. He co-directs the campus-wide Deep Decarbonization Initiative, which focuses on the engineering, economic and political challenges associated with bringing the world to nearly zero emissions of warming gasses.
He has been heavily involved in many different climate- and energy-policy initiatives, including as convening lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations-sanctioned international body with 195 country members that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
He is also an adjunct professor in Climate, Atmospheric Science & Physical Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a professor (by courtesy) in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Prior to joining the faculty at UC San Diego, Victor was a professor at Stanford Law School where he taught energy and environmental law.
His Ph.D. is from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and A.B. from Harvard University.
________________________
Many thanks to nonprofit global education provider Bright Light Volunteers/ Bright Light Corporate for financial support of the event!
