Successes and achievements at Climate Week NYC 2024
No national climate plans are credible if they rely on solutions that are years away from being scalable and effective.
Dear friends,
As I’m writing this, I’m still bursting with inspiration because of the great discussions and sharp action-focus that you brought to this year’s Climate Week NYC.
I can’t thank you enough for helping to make this 16th edition the biggest one yet with more than 900 official events across the whole week, a 50 percent increase compared to last year. Together, we’ve shown that people do see the urgency of climate change, and that they are serious about investing in moments like this to drive climate action, fast.
As you know, this year’s battle cry was: It’s Time.
Because while 2030 and 2050 are critical milestones, the focus this Climate Week NYC was on what we need to do right now, to get on track. That’s why we
launched our Global To-Do List of seven actions that businesses and governments can start taking today to drive results in the next 12 months. Our list is very much an invitation for you to go back to your organization and decide what action you’re going to take now, to help reach those critical milestones.
Combine that with what Simon Stiell, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, called the ABC of NDCs during The Hub Live, and we have a shot. The A is for governments setting Ambitious emission targets, the B for a Breakdown into sectors and gasses, and C is all about Credibility. As I said in my opening
HELEN’S LETTER
speech, no national climate plans are credible if they rely on solutions that are years away from being scalable and effective. We need to work, urgently, with the technologies we have at our disposal now.
I was proud to see so many speakers and panels taking that message to heart, whether it was on transport, next steps in electricity sourcing, pathways to low carbon steel, or on action in food system and innovations.
You are inspiring.
Thank you.
Helen Clarkson OBE, CEO of Climate Group
Global To-Do List:
One Year, Seven Actions
As the world is collectively failing to get on track, we kicked off Climate Week NYC with a call for governments, businesses, and the global climate community to focus on far bolder, annual to-do lists of climate action. Because urgent, concrete action is needed to address the emissions gap between what scientists say is needed to avoid disastrous climate change, and what governments and business are delivering.
The Global To-Do List calls for seven climate actions across key sectors and systems:
1
Support workers to power down coal
3 Ban relining of coalbased steel furnaces
ONE
4
Get serious on methane
5 Stop ignoring energy efficiency
6 Buy clean 7 Tax fossil fuels to fund the transition
These are all actions that businesses and governments can start taking now, that will drive results in the next 12 months to get the world on track. The list came about after extensive consultation with experts within Climate Group and external partners.
“It’s time to define what action we need to take right now, to get to the critical milestones of 2030 and 2050 in one piece. It’s time for a reality check. We can’t keep making ambitious commitments but then only half implementing them. We can’t afford to waste another year. One year, seven actions - this is our call to arms,” said Helen Clarkson OBE, CEO of Climate Group.
Our impact
Media reach:
31.6 billion
Digital campaign impressions (physical reach):
52,400,000
Number of HubConnect logins: 1,204
Attendee US states (in-person): 46
Number of HubConnect page views: 22,952
Attendee organizations (in-person): 1,241
Impressions of #ClimateWeekNYC: 955,536,882
Attendees (total): 4,476
Speakers from around the world: 212
Number of app downloads: 4,180 total all time
Attendees (in-person): 2,407
Climate Group members in attendance (in person): 604
Number of app engagements: 39,775
Attendees (virtual): 3,066
Climate Group member organizations in attendance (in person): 188
Worldwide coverage
Climate Week NYC drew attention from journalists around the world and across the media spectrum, resulting in coverage by outlets including Reuters, Associated Press, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, POLITICO, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, Der Spiegel, the New York Times, The Washington Post and Newsweek, to more specialist publications focused on energy, steel and other climate issues. Climate Week NYC was also covered through interviews on Accuweather, NY1, New York Stock Exchange TV and Sirius Radio, and podcasts such as The Energy Gang, Take on Tomorrow, and Outrage + Optimism.
Climate Group also hosted the first ever Spanish Language media roundtable at Climate Week NYC. This on-the-record conversation was attended by outlets such as El Tiempo Latino, El Diario, and USA Today.
For Climate Week NYC 2024, we partnered with: Newsweek
You come to be inspired by the palpable power of people in the streets and the genius of the entrepreneurs actually solving their piece of the climate problem.
Quote in Wall Street Journal
Main program highlights
Helen Clarkson, CEO of Climate Group: “100 years from now, people will say: how many people needed to die in heatwaves for them to really believe what was happening? And the best they could do was just to go a bit slower? Why did no one actually pull the handbrake for a U-turn?”
In a press briefing during The Hub Live, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, alongside actor Lou Diamond Phillips, announced he is suing ExxonMobil for what he called a “decades-long campaign of deception that caused and exacerbated the global plastics pollution crisis.”
In a discussion with our CEO Helen Clarkson, Professor Tim Lenton from the University of Exeter shared his findings from a new report launched in partnership with Climate Group. Lenton explained what positive tipping points are, and how, if powerful and effective policy mandates are in place, they can hit multiple positive tipping points across sectors.
“The climate phenomena that we were expecting to happen in 10 years from now are already happening today”, said Minister Sonia Guajajara of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil at the Opening Ceremony.
“Indigenous people around the world are alive. We continue to exist. We continue to fight.”
The Under2 Coalition is expanding. During Climate Week NYC, Wielkopolska Region and Córdoba Province officially joined the Coalition, signifying the continued commitment by states and regions globally to achieve net zero by 2050. Present, Marshal Woźniak of Wielkopolska Region and Secretary Gabutti of Córdoba Province with Nehmat Kaur, Director of Under2 Coalition and Subnational Governments.
At a press conference at The Hub Live, a coalition of nearly 40 green banks announced the formation of a groundbreaking partnership to accelerate clean energy investment nationwide. U.S. Green Bank 50 will bring green banks from across the US together to coordinate a historic wave of clean energy investment and provide climate solutions.
Climate Group launched the 24/7 Carbon-Free Coalition at The Hub Live. The announcement was made during a panel session that included Kate Brandt, CSO of Google and Ben Norbury, Global Climate Lead of AstraZeneca. Both are founding partners of the coalition that will work toward matching their electricity with carbon-free power every hour, every day, sourced from the same grid.
U.S. Steel announced it’s the first steel producer in the world qualified to sell ResponsibleSteel Certified Steel, at its Big River facility in Osceola, Arkansas. Big River is at the forefront of innovation by achieving certification for sustainably sourced and manufactured steel. This world-first is expected to set an example for the critical decarbonization of steel.
Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC, at The Hub Live said:
“Government leadership needs real economy transformation done well. These plans [NDCs] will be powerful blueprints for stronger economies and societies. They will be key determinants in whether these economies flounder or flourish by riding the epic wave of global decarbonization bringing every sector on board to get there.”
Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony and its speakers brought a strong energy and urgency to the stage this year; a feeling that we need to do this, together.
Kicked off by The Weather Channel meteorologist Stephanie Abrams and followed by the opening speech of Climate Group’s CEO Helen Clarkson, inspiring speakers and Climate Group’s Global ToDo List focused on the crucial decisions and action we need to start taking right now, to leave the world in better shape.
The Honourable Philip E. Davis, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, was clear in his warning, “The old playbooks, familiar arguments are no longer acceptable. […] Global leaders have a choice – listen to your people or be replaced by others who will.”
A string of speakers followed, including some representing the very top of business action takers. Will Jackson-Moore, Global Sustainability Leader at Headline Partner PwC, spoke on overcoming the growing cost of climate inaction for business leaders: “Try not to focus too much on the longterm - a lot of no-regret actions can be done now, in the short-term.”
And Benoit Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Opening Ceremony
Partner Saint-Gobain, lifted the veil on how his company is tackling emissions in construction: “We need to act, and it’s all about the massive shift towards sustainable construction. What does that mean? It’s construction that would provide performance in terms of quality, in terms of economic value, and in terms of durability for the wellbeing of the people and for the planet.”
Dame Jacinda Ardern urged world leaders in a unique election year to refrain from weaponizing climate, she stated “...some will tell you that climate change has become too political, too polarized, and that is one of the reasons progress is too slow, but a 2024 UN Development Program study shows over 80% of the global population want their governments fighting the climate crisis faster.”
Those insights were followed by a final ask by Clarkson to “go into the rest of the week meeting as many people as you can to drive climate action with you, and to ask yourself what your company, government, or organization can do to push things forward, take ownership and drive change.”
Opening Ceremony (stats)
1,587
The Hub Live
The Hub Live and its speakers built on the momentum, energy, and urgency from the Opening Ceremony. It kicked off with a poignant opening from ABC News’ Chief Meteorologist and Climate Correspondent, Ginger Zee who recounted the first hurricane she covered, Katrina, was not purely about the science but the people it impacted.
It set the stage for meaningful, personal accounts of leadership from Governor Jay Inslee who spoke of the “unstoppable momentum” underpinning Washington State’s reduction of CO2 per unit of GDP by 30% and Freetown’s Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr who spoke of her widely successful, ‘Freetown the Treetown’ campaign. This delivered thousands of ‘green jobs’, boosting the city’s resilience plan, and addressing deforestation; the cause which triggered her desire to run for office.
The Hub Live continued with several thematic sessions focused on COP’s ‘tripling’ renewables and ‘doubling down’ on energy efficiency pledges, accessibility in climate funding, public procurement of sustainable food, and community-based health resilience in a warming climate, before concluding on the first day with a flagship session focused on climate finance and sustainable growth.
With COP28’s agreement finally signalling the need to “transition away” from the fossil fuel era, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London and Co-Chair of C40 Cities explained how cities were taking the lead in ‘divest-invest’ action by withdrawing $500 billion from coal, oil, and gas through pension funds and championing investments in the green economy wherever possible.
Jointly, Makhtar Diop, the IFC’s Managing Director and UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP29, Nigar Arpadarai highlighted the importance of turning the tide on general inequality, financial accessibility, and the promotion of outcomes for women in climate action through the IFC’s ‘She Wins Climate’ Accelerator announced at COP28.
The Hub Live continued with a flagship focused on climate innovation and technology with a panel
discussion featuring Meta Platforms, Inc., Nokia and GlobalLogic, a Hitachi, Ltd. company where business leaders unpacked the promise of artificial intelligence in changing the trajectory of climate change. Meta Platforms, Inc.’s Blair Swedeen spoke of leveraging open-source AI to “...validate reforestation efforts and carbon credit projects” and shared the technological approach which led to a 40% reduction in the carbon footprint of concrete in Meta Platforms, Inc.’s hyperscale data centers.
The Hub Live concluded with its broadest array of thematic sessions of the week ranging from focuses on climate storytelling and messaging for Latino communities and concrete and steel decarbonization to EV grid development, 24/7 renewable energy matching and ‘bottom up’ approaches to global boiling.
The Hub Live also hosted two live podcasts focused on NDC ambition and implementation and the climate-health nexus with a blockbuster
‘who’s who’ of presenters ranging from global climate leader, Christiana Figueres, the UNFCCC’s Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, Germany’s State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate, Jennifer Morgan, Brazil’s National Secretary for Climate Change, Ana Toni, Time’s Chief Climate Officer, Shyla Raghav, and Dr. Victor Dzau, President of the National Academy of Medicine.
This year at our new venue, The Glasshouse, we held our inaugural Network Reception at The Hub Live, hosted in partnership with Hitachi, Ltd. The event was a great opportunity to connect with peers and discuss the hot topics of the day.
The Reception opened with the premiere of Hitachi, Ltd.’s video ‘One Hundred & One’ followed by remarks from Mike Rann, Chair of the UK Board at Climate Group, and Lorena Dellagiovanna, Senior Vice President and Executive Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer, Hitachi, Ltd.
To decarbonize, we require green electrons and green molecules in conjunction, and we need to deploy technology at scale and speed to address the energy challenges of our time. But it also demands a change in everything we do as a society –both in our private lives and industrial processes.
Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO, Hitachi Energy
The Hub Live (stats)
Attended:
2,067
The Hub Live Executive series
This year saw the return of the Executive Series, bringing together leaders from across business, government, and civil society to discuss the most urgent climate-related challenges of the day.
Hosted as a series of invitation-only roundtables, the Executives Series saw a range of discussions conducted under Chatham House rules. These intimate conversations were hosted in smaller groups of up to 17 participants, facilitating candid discussions which aimed to send participants away with new perspectives and tangible goals.
The Executive Series runs on big ideas. The urgency of the climate crisis demands not just dialogue, but decisive, collective action to drive real-world impact. Therefore, each year it brings together key stakeholders who acknowledge that It’s Time to convert conversation into commitment.
17 roundtables across three days
269 attendees
236 companies/organizations
Roundtables:
• From innovation to investability: Data-driven insights to scale private capital for the green transition
• Taking a byte out of carbon: How to use AI to accelerate decarbonisation
• The silver (and gold) lining: How leading companies are thinking beyond compliance and using ESG reporting to drive growth
• Decarbonization as a growth strategy: Tips, tricks, and savings
• AI for all: How can we equitably deploy AI-powered adaptation solutions?
• Advancing renewable energy in Latin America: The role of businesses and subnational governments
• The collaborative advantage: How can companies work together to tackle scope 3 emissions?
• Accelerating decarbonization: The auto steel commitment
• Advancing the energy transition in the built environment
• Forging the future: How can public sector action support steel decarbonization to create a market for net zero steel?
• Derisking corporate climate strategies: Clean energy data automation in a fluid policy landscape
• Carbon removals: Scaling high quality standards for nature based carbon solutions
• Building resilience: Putting people first using holistic approaches to renovation
• Supercharging climate comms to drive faster government and business action
• Unlocking the green vault: Financing the Renovation Revolution in the US
• High ambition states and regions at the forefront: Paving the way for global NDC progress
• Collaboration for scale and impact: US leadership in the global #PhilanthropyForClimate movement
Climate Leaders’ Reception
This year the Climate Leaders’ Reception again brought senior leadership from across the worlds of business, government and climate community.
Hosted in partnership with Salesforce, and held at the landmark Salesforce Tower, the event provided a collaborative space for those at the forefront of climate action to share their objectives for the week and combine efforts to navigate future plans.
The event saw opening remarks from Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group, and Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and Chief Impact Officer, Salesforce which set the tone of senior leadership and collaboration for the week ahead.
Events program
With over 900 events taking place across the week, this year we had the opportunity to engage with and create a platform for a large, more diverse cross section of the climate community.
This year saw the emergence of a number of new focal points, highlighting new trends and priorities. This included sessions relating to the health impacts of climate change, the emergence of a growing number of events curated by Spanish-speaking leaders, as well as conversations talking to the Artificial Intelligence, finance, nature-based solutions, environmental justice, and cultural spaces.
Partnerships are once again key to our ability to engage the wider community in Climate Week NYC. This year we worked with partners such as The Nest Summit, American Museum of Natural History, Climate Film Festival and Columbia Climate School. We were also delighted to see growth in cultural activations throughout the week, such as through our partnership with Canopy, Wellcome Trust’s cultural activation program. This was further activated through collaborations with a number of social influencers highlighting key cultural, policy, community, and engagement activations.
Storytellers demanding accountability
Extreme Weather Survivors hosted a panel with people directly impacted by extreme weather conditions. Four panellists from across the US shared harrowing stories of how they’ve been personally harmed by climate change, and the importance of demanding justice and accountability.
Solutions House
For the third year, Solutions House presented their renowned ANSWERS ONLY event. Hosted by Futerra, Google and the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the program was curated into three transformative days filled with climate solution panels and sessions with thoughtleaders, scientists, creatives, and comedians in their largest venue yet.
24 The Planet
The first NYC edition of 24 The Planet, an impressive 24-hour nonstop walk, took place with 19 participants in Central Park during Climate Week NYC.
The walkers, who ranged from ages 19-64, walked over 90,000 steps and raised more than $30,000 USD. All proceeds were donated to Justdiggit, an NGO dedicated to regreening dry and degraded land in Africa to help cool down the planet.
Food, with a side of climate
Yellow Dot Studios hosted “The Hot Facts Stand” in Union Square, featuring American actor and activist Rainn Wilson. The activation blended food and climate awareness by serving vegan hot dogs with a side of “climate reality” in the form of key facts about climate change.
Travalyst: Change travel, for good
Travalyst, an NGO founded by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, marked its fifth anniversary by unveiling its vision for the next five years. The ambitious plan centralizes sustainability data collection and distribution for key areas of travel and tourism, empowering travellers to make more informed decisions.
Canopy by Wellcome Trust
Canopy, hosted by Wellcome Trust and Climate Group, was launched at the American Museum of Natural History and on Governors Island, home of The New York Climate Exchange. It involved a group of researchers, artists, policymakers, designers, youth leaders and advocates seeking to better understand the health impacts of climate change.
Battery powers concert
AY Young, the first artist to power his concerts using 100% renewable energy, shut down Times Square to kick off Climate Week NYC with thousands pouring in from around the globe for his free Music for Impact concert.
The Battery Tour is a renewable energy-powered grassroots concert series that collects donations to fund the purchase of portable solarpowered boxes for communities with limited access to electricity.
Our global member network in action
Each year at Climate Week NYC, we bring together members from our Climate Group initiatives to exchange ideas and celebrate inspiring examples of climate leadership.
Our expanding global network now includes more than 600 forward-thinking businesses, governments and signatories all dedicated to driving collective action and advancing a just transition. These companies are leading the way through their involvement in our flagship initiatives: RE100, EV100, EV100+, EP100, SteelZero, and ConcreteZero.
When businesses collaborate, they can send significant demand signals that lead to market acceleration. We joined EV100 because electrifying our fleet is an important contribution to the effort to cut millions of tonnes of emissions from the transportation sector.
Fleming Voetmann, Vice President of External Relations & Sustainability, VELUX Group
Top member moments:
• We announced the pilot of a new campaign, the 24/7 Carbon-Free Coalition, to support large global corporates to revolutionize electricity procurement and reduce carbon emissions. Founding partners include Google, AstraZeneca, Iron Mountain Data Centers, Shree Cement, AirTrunk, and Vodafone UK.
• This year marks the 10th anniversary of RE100. To celebrate this milestone, we brought members together at the RE100 Members Forum and Awards, spotlighting the work of trailblazing organizations and creating a space for inspiring conversations.
• This year’s Climate Week NYC saw an exceptional turnout of subnational leaders. Alongside this, the Under2 Coalition Global Ministerial meeting convened to discuss subnational leadership in driving a just transition away from fossil fuels, mobilizing greater finance for climate action, and catalyzing ambition for the next set of NDCs at COP29 and COP30.
• Siemens - a member of our RE100, EP100, and EV100 programs – launched a digital decarbonization tool to help companies across the supply chain overcome decarbonization obstacles while achieving economic growth and reaching net zero goals.
• Climate Group published a new report with SteelZero member Ramboll, revealing nearly half of companies surveyed globally are ready to pay a premium for lower emission steel and concrete. With steel and concrete production accounting for 15% of global emissions, their urgent decarbonization is critical to achieving our climate goals and protecting our planet for generations to come.
It’s vital that companies accelerate the transition to renewable energy. That’s why we’re committed to using 100% renewable electricity in our operations by 2030.
Nick Hampton, Chief Executive, Tate & Lyle PLC
604 members attended in person
173 members attended virtually
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