NYC Climate Week 2025 – Momentum, Messengers & Missing Links

This year’s NYCW achieved record-breaking figures in terms of events and active participants. Against a broader backdrop of rolling back climate policies in the US, the event emerged as a statement of conviction: that private actors, cities, and civil society must maintain momentum even in the face of potential setbacks at the national and even international level. With over 1,000 events held across the city – where corporate pledges, climate diplomacy, and street-level activism intertwined – the week managed to strike a balance between hope and realism.

Now, looking back across the whole week, it’s clear that the general mood was both ambitious and cautious in places. Everyone, from the headline speakers to the thousands of everyday New Yorkers, understood that this was a pivotal week to push the message of advocating deeper collaboration, while acknowledging that there are significant cracks showing across the political spectrum in terms of varying strategic approaches to climate action.

Record-High Participation & Events: The week delivered at an unprecedented scale – over 1,000 sessions involving tens of thousands of participants – underscoring demand for climate engagement even amid political headwinds.

UN Urges Alignment on Policy and Action: UN Climate Chief Simon Stiell called on nations to turn promises into practice, stressing that “the science demands action” and pushing for policy that links with their economic reality.

Corporate Commitments & Green Deals: Major firms like Microsoft, Levi’s, Johnson & Johnson, Schneider Electric, and Mastercard all announced new sustainability initiatives, from supply-chain decarbonisation to climate-finance programs. For example, J&J’s charitable arm donated $1 million to aid healthcare workers responding to climate-based disasters. Meanwhile, Levi’s announced its ambitions to eliminate 90% of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by the end of this year.

“Sun Day” & Activist Mobilisation: Ahead of the formal start of NYCW 2025, in New York and elsewhere across the US, grassroots solar rallies and public demonstrations highlighted the growing power of citizen movements on climate-based issues, keeping the pressure on decisionmakers.

City-Level Climate Deliverables in Focus: Host city Manhattan and its climate office presented its commendable progress: more than 90% of the city’s 85 PlaNYC initiatives are on track, showcasing how local agenda-setting can complement national and global efforts. Achieving these initiatives is essential for allowing New York to realise its wider ambition of becoming a carbon-free city by 2040.

Push for SAF: As a top-tier global tourism destination attracting tens of millions of visitors annually, New York is an ideal platform for the aviation industry to lay out its vision for the sustainable future of air travel. Upscaling the use of SAF – Sustainable Aviation Fuel – was a recurring theme during the week, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) rolling out a new study highlighting the major technological bottlenecks that must be overcome to keep the global conversion to SAF on track. New pledges, collaboration projects, case studies and commitments were also announced by multiple airlines and other supportive stakeholders.

NYC 2025 wasn’t just a showcase of advocacy and new climate pledges – it was a statement of necessity. It undoubtedly achieved several of its aims: galvanising private-sector momentum, amplifying city-level leadership, and spotlighting gaps in policy alignment. But it also laid bare persistent challenges, such as bridging political dissonance, ensuring financial flows reach the most vulnerable sectors of society, and translating well-meaning commitments into immediate, measurable emissions reductions.

Climate Week has shifted its centre of gravity toward municipalities, private actors, and coalitions that can act regardless of national politics. If the week’s legacy turns out to be sustained collaboration, tighter urban-national integration, and putting pressure on lagging sectors, then it will have secured more than just headlines – it may have helped power the next phase of the climate transition.