Reflecting on the findings and the importance of this week’s UN Climate Summit, Drew Gilpin Faust, President of Harvard University, and John L. Hennessy, President of Stanford University, write about the role of academia within the climate change movement. Emphasis is given to the long term, as universities have the opportunity and obligation to organize their resources, convene key actors, and collaborate across generations in pursuit of truly innovative solutions—without becoming subservient to short term economic interests or partisan politics.