Climate Week NYC opens with the theme “It’s Time”

The 16th Climate Week New York City (NYC) has kicked off with a global to-do list of actions that aims to deliver tangible results over the coming year under the theme, “It’s Time.”

Climate Week NYC, which takes place September 22-29, is the largest annual climate event of its kind, bringing together over 600 events and activities across the city of New York in person, hybrid and online. The event takes place every year in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly and is run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York.

Cop29 and Cop30

The week was opened by Helen Clarkson, CEO of organisers the Climate Group, which is hosting the event. She said while there is a lot of talk already about Cop30 next year in Belem, “we can’t focus on next year and just skip this year”. She added: “There’s critical work that needs to happen at Cop29. In fact, it shouldn’t be seasonal at all – climate should be at the heart of all international meetings at all levels – whether that’s the G7 or the G77, or bilateral meetings that happen this week at UNGA.”

Actions on the Global To-do List include urging governments to break down the barriers to unleashing renewables and to stop ignoring energy efficiency. Climate group highlights that energy efficiency of buildings is still overlooked even though it makes money. It advocates that every business should set a target to become five per cent more efficient in 12 months’ time by managing insulation, heating, cooling, industrial energy and using electric vehicles (EVs).

“It is vital that the future of the planet is set by proactive climate do-ers, not delayers”

It also calls for businesses and governments to maximise the enormous purchasing power to “buy clean”: “All of them should now be buying healthy, lower carbon food, setting targets for lower carbon steel and concrete, and buying 100 percent renewables and EVs.”

You can read more of  Clarkson’s opening speech here.

Meanwhile, the mayor of London and co-chair of C40 Cities Sadiq Khan is leading an international delegation of mayors representing more than 52 million people to the event.