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SPEAKER AUTHOR THOUGHT-LEADER

Gopal D. Patel

The voice at the intersection of faith, leadership, and the future of the planet.

Gopal D. Patel is one of the world's leading thinkers on the role of faith and spirituality in addressing the environmental crisis. Drawing on decades of work with the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and faith communities across the globe, he brings a rare combination of institutional credibility, spiritual depth, and practical wisdom to every stage he takes.

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TRUSTED BY:

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750,000+ VIEWS WORLDWIDE

The Talk That Started
a Global Conversation

Gopal's TED Countdown talk, The Unexpected Way Spirituality Connects to Climate Change, has been watched by more than 760,000 people worldwide. It introduced a four-part framework drawn from the world's great faith traditions — and sparked a conversation that continues to reshape how leaders think about the relationship between inner conviction and outer action.

"For me, my big idea is that the Earth is a Goddess. The Sanskrit word is 'Bhumi'. She is the loving and nurturing source for me and all life."
Gopal D. Patel, TED Countdown Summit

ABOUT

Gopal D. Patel

Gopal D. Patel's journey into environmental work began not in a boardroom or a campaign office, but in a Hindu ashram on the banks of the sacred river Ganges in India. There, immersed in the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita and the traditions of engaged spirituality, he developed a conviction that would shape everything that followed: that the way we care for the planet is inseparable from the way we understand our place in it.

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He brought that conviction into the climate movement in 2010, and has spent the years since working at the highest levels of global institutions — advising the United Nations, contributing to the World Economic Forum, and collaborating with faith communities, NGOs, and policy makers across the world. His central argument is one that the environmental movement is only beginning to reckon with: that the crisis we face is not merely a political or technological problem, but a spiritual one — and that the world's great faith traditions have always carried tools and wisdom that activists urgently need.

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At a time when the environmental movement is grappling with burnout, fragmentation, and a loss of momentum, Gopal offers something rare: a framework rooted in thousands of years of human wisdom, translated for the urgency of now. He speaks to scientists and activists, to faith leaders and policy makers, to anyone who senses that something deeper is needed.

BEYOND THE STAGE

Work & Initiatives

FUTUREFAITH

Gopal is President and Co-Founder of FutureFaith, a global organisation that convenes faith communities around the world's most urgent environmental challenges. Its initiatives include Faiths for Oceans, Faiths for Biodiversity, and Faiths for Land.

FEATURED REPORT

Lead author for Faith in Action: Religion and Spirituality in the Polycrisis, published by the World Economic Forum. The report makes the case for faith communities as a vital and underutilised force in global sustainability efforts.

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WORK WITH GOPAL

Let's find the right fit for your audience.

Gopal is available for keynote talks, panel discussions, and workshops — on the themes above, or on any topic at the intersection of faith, leadership, and the environment. Every engagement is shaped around the needs of your audience and context.

IN ACTION

Watch Gopal Speak

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TED COUNTDOWN

The Unexpected Way Spirituality Connects to Climate Change
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WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

WWF INTERNATIONAL

Faith in Action
Faith, Biodiversity and Climate Change

Contact Me

©2025 by Gopal D. Patel

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