This week, New York City gets to lay claim to many of the leaders of the world and what could end up being the year’s biggest climate gathering.
Climate Week NYC, which starts at the same time as the United Nations General Assembly, will include hundreds of events across Manhattan hotel ballrooms, Brooklyn rooftops and even a beach in Queens. Participants will include financiers, entrepreneurs, scientists, diplomats, corporate executives and heads of state. There will be an almost uncountable number of sustainability announcements.
Azerbaijan is due to host a two-week UN climate summit in November that would typically be the biggest moment on the calendar. But COP29 is expected to draw far fewer business executives and bankers than last year’s COP28 event in the financial hub Dubai.
It’s hard for the Azerbaijan capital of Baku to compete with the sheer scale of what the wealthy United Arab Emirates put together. Plus, this year’s UN climate summit promises lower-stakes diplomatic action.
That could mean that segments of the corporate climate crowd, who’ve been an increasing presence at COP, turn up in New York this week instead.
Climate Week will be held on the margins of UN deliberations, where it’s likely that ongoing wars shape the agenda. In years past, however, the General Assembly meeting has produced showstopping climate moments.
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Chinese President Xi Jingping made a surprise pledge in 2020 to reach net zero emissions. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley emerged as charismatic proponent for the climate-finance priorities of developing nations in a 2022 UN speech.
Mottley will be among the world leaders and diplomats who will be popping up at various Climate Week events. Other power players such as former US climate envoy John Kerry and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be in the mix.
