Cities rising: Reflections from New York Climate Week

Earlier this week, Urban Partners hosted a dialogue on radical collaboration in a leafy oasis, St. Luke in the Fields Garden, tucked away in the West Village. As a panelist, I was reflecting on how inspiring and energising it was to be amongst nature, particularly when having a conversation about the built environment. After all, it was only in 2020 that man-made mass (bricks, concrete, steel…) surpassed all living mass in the world. Often we are so removed from nature that we forget how restorative it is. And how critical it is for the climate-positive and inclusive world we want to create.

Over the past week, I’ve been lucky to be able to participate in many meetings, panels, formal proceedings, lunches, dinners, and late night gatherings here at New York Climate Week to learn how we – collectively – can move faster to address this polycrisis moment. As we saw in the Global Stocktake, we are not where we need to be (and, we are woefully behind in delivering on the SDGs, with only 15% met). In his opening of the climate ambition summit, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres even said, “Humanity has opened the gates of hell." The challenge before us is massive. Unprecedented. And even existential.

Yet, there still is (a sliver of) time. And during this whirlwind week, I increasingly heard what could be called five “self-evident” truths, each of which gives me a bit of hope:

?? Cities can do what national governments cannot: aim high and move fast.

And we need that. Particularly when national governments don’t step up. The conspicuous absence of Security Council members France, United Kingdom, China and Russia from the U.N. General Assembly this week does not bode well for multilateral action. More nimble than countries, cities are increasing rising to the challenge, embracing ambitions that far outstrip that of their national governments and partnering with the private sector in creative and impactful ways. The C40 Cities coalition of mayors (representing 20% of the global economy) shared, for example, how their investments in urban climate action are paying off: over 14 million new, green jobs have been created across 53 cities. And cities can increasingly serve as the hotbeds for experimentation and innovative approaches across sectors (built, transport, food) or approaches (adaptation, resilience, etc.)

?? Nature needs to be part of the solution.

This is, of course, an obvious statement. But it is mind-boggling how often nature has not been at the table. This week saw the launch of the final recommendations by the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) – a critical milestone in holding business and finance to account for nature-related risks. And Climate Week’s Nature Positive Hub served as inspiration for how business is stepping up to deliver on the global goal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. What I found intriguing this week is how it’s all connected; we increasingly are speaking to the intersectionality of nature, climate, and people. As we should.

?? Philanthropy is a catalyst, but not a silver bullet.

Philanthropy is increasingly the most popular kid in the class, invited to the party to derisk others and unlock larger investment by public and private sources. We see this playing out with many initiatives – from the World Economic Forum 's GAEA (who hosted a dialogue on tangible opportunities to bring philanthropy together with public and private investment) - to philanthropy’s catalytic role in Just Energy Transition Partnerships or even reforming the global financial architecture (Bridgetown 2.0 ). New York Climate Week saw several exciting announcements to this end. The Rockefeller Foundation announced its big bet of $1 billion to support the global energy transition. Bloomberg Philanthropies pledged $500 million to the Beyond Carbon Campaign. A coalition of funders (Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bezos Earth Fund, ClimateWorks Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation) announced $340 million to enable the data and research needed to accelerate adoption of net-zero practices within the financial sector. Such catalytic capital is important, and, let's hope, will unlock 10x, 100x, 1000x the investment needed for an equitable transition.

?? It’s not mitigation vs. adaptation anymore. It’s both.

I even heard from a senior UN official that many of our systems are even in a post-adaptation phase, which calls for bolder support on loss and damage. 3.6 billion people live in countries that are highly vulnerable to climate change. More – by business, by government, by investors, and by philanthropy – needs to be done. Many of the conversations I had this week were on how exactly to achieve this “course correction” that is so urgently needed. To be sure, COP28 could be the defining moment and an opportunity to reach agreements around loss and damage, adaptation, and just transition, and to do this, we need increased transparency and accountability.

?? And localisation is key.

A just and equitable transition in the apparel sector in Bangladesh (where we need to “climate proof” jobs, particularly in light of what the future holds per this recent report by Cornell ) looks very different from supporting displaced coal workers in the US’ Appalachian region. Again, this is another self-evident truth, but one that may not be fully appreciated. What this localisation looks like was the topic of many discussions – particularly when it comes to solving issues around workforce transition, community equity and access, and – to the earlier point on nature – land, natural resources and community rights.

So, we have work to do. I leave New York with mixed feelings, vacillating at times between hope and despair. But after having met with so many of Laudes Foundation 's partners over the past week, I also am confident that those brave organisations on the frontlines of change are on the right path. And it's up to us to be there to support them.