The bassist from the multi-platinum indie pop band AJR, Adam Met, wears many hats—and wears them well. Beyond the stage, he’s an adjunct professor at Columbia University, where he teaches a course on climate policy and campaigning, tapping into expertise gathered while earning a PhD in Human Rights Law and Sustainable Development from the University of Birmingham.
But Adam’s impact—or boundless energy, apparently—doesn’t stop there. After earning his doctorate, he also co-founded Planet Reimagined, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing climate solutions through research and strategic advocacy. As executive director of the organization, Adam works closely with both the White House and Congress on bipartisan renewable energy policy. This work has earned him high recognition, including the 2024 TIME Earth Award and a spot on the New York Times’ list of changemakers. His first book, Amplify, will be published in June. The book offers practical ways for anyone who’s ever said, “I want to help,” but didn’t know where to start.
Adam will discuss why he’s prioritizing climate work and the plastics crisis at Moms Clean Air Force’s Plastic Summit on April 3. Tune in to our livestream to hear his insights. And read on to learn how Adam bridges music, policy, and purpose to drive real-world climate solutions in his various jobs.
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Your career journey is diverse. Walk us through your path.
I always liked being in school. I did my undergrad, masters, and PhD while being on the road with the band [which he formed with his two brothers in 2005]. I needed to keep exercising both sides of my brain.
As soon as I finished my PhD, I co-founded Planet Reimagined with my partner Mila Rosenthal. She came from the UN Development Programme as the head of communications and advocacy. She and I founded the organization to do creative climate advocacy and treat the development of climate ideas the same way a tech incubator would. It’s not just the tech, but how can we build more effective movements, how can we develop policy, taking the same approach of an incubator.
Is there a specific moment when you decided you wanted to have a climate job? What was it?
In high school, I went on a field trip to see Mary Robinson speak. She was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland. She made the connection between human rights and climate, and that was incredibly inspiring.
In your work, what are the typical battles about climate? What are the roadblocks that seem to come up?
I see two big roadblocks: One is in the music space: people come up and say, “I want to make a difference, but I don’t know what to do.” Everyone’s been told that individual action makes a difference.
I’ll use this story as an example: We [AJR] had a fan, a young woman, come up for a meet and greet. She didn’t want to take a photo. She wanted to tell us a story about a petition to ban single-use plastic in her school’s lunchroom. Even though single-use plastic can be considered an individual issue, she got enough signatures to ban it from the entire school. Then, she got it banned at the district level. This shows individual leadership versus individual action. It’s about building a community, and doing it all together, and giving people the tools to do something and think, “I do have the power to make change.”
The second roadblock is that we live in a divided United States. But a lot of the commonsense and business solutions are bipartisan or nonpartisan. If you know how to engage different groups with the right language, you can find commonalities. That’s the policy we do–with Republicans and Democrats–we engage them [on the same solutions] using different language.
What keeps you motivated and inspired when your work is challenging?
Every time someone doesn’t want to work on climate or is against it, that makes three others excited for it. The U.S. pulling out of the Paris Agreement, for example, caused other companies and countries to step up. China, the Middle East, and Europe stayed committed to it.
My philosophy is “follow the energy.” When we are working on clean energy, we follow where the energy is.
Do you feel like your work makes a difference? To whom?
Yes. It’s all about protecting people. The environmental justice movement is vital. So much of what we do is figuring out how we can make a transition to renewable energy that is just and incredibly kind.