Climate Week NYC: Opening Ceremony Speech - 2024: It’s Time – Key Principles For Climate Action

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Hello, and welcome to Climate Week NYC – it’s so good to see you here today at the Times Center in New York, and for those of you joining online, thank you so much for tuning in as well.

Firstly, I wanted to say a huge thank you to our partners, especially PWC, our Headline Partner and Saint-Gobain, our Opening Ceremony Partner. Without them, none of this would be possible.

This is the 16th Climate Week NYC and as usual we stand here looking back on a summer of increasingly dire climate impacts and looking ahead to crucial discussions that will happen throughout the Autumn.

Climate Week NYC often sounds the starting gun for what can feel like ‘climate season’ - the months when there's increased focus on our planet.

There's a lot of talk already about COP30 next year in Belem, as by then we’ll receive the new commitments from countries under the Paris Agreement. But we can’t focus on next year and just skip this year – 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.

Today and this week, It’s Time to think about the crucial decisions and action we need to start taking right now, to leave COP30 with the world in better shape. So, our theme for this year is exactly that: It’s Time.

Because history will judge us. 100 years from now, people will say: they knew where they were heading, how many warnings from scientists did they need? 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? So, this week when we say, “It’s Time”, here are five principles for what that means, and what we need to do right now, to change direction and get us on track.

It's Time to put people first

The transition must be just. It should keep the needs, priorities and realities of all communities top of mind. 

Investment in renewables has reached record levels, and hopefully left fossil fuel investment in the rear-view mirrors of our electric cars. China is producing EVs and solar panels at an astonishing rate, the US and the EU have ambitious climate plans, and South Australia generates more than 70% of its electricity from renewable sources – good things are happening. 

But the benefits can’t just be shared between a small, rich minority - they need to be felt by all, especially those who have contributed the least to climate change but are hardest hit by it. A just transition will upskill workers, provide decent jobs, and fair compensation where needed, guaranteeing livelihoods.

It's Time to pay up

The Global North has a historical responsibility to free up long overdue climate finance, to ensure people living in climate hotspots are protected and resilient.

When we look at the devastating weather events all around us, it’s clear climate change is indiscriminate. Some of the most vulnerable refugee communities in Sudan have lost everything they own in catastrophic floods, while some of the richest people in the world have lost their houses to fires in California. Wildfires have destroyed landmark forests in Canada and Greece, and deadly heatwaves have killed hundreds of people in India. 

No one is immune to extreme weather. But not everyone has the same ability to recover from the impact. Losing your third house is just not the same as losing your only home.

Climate finance can help bridge that gap by building resilience, boosting innovation, and helping the most vulnerable communities adapt. Thirdly:

It's Time to listen to citizens

According to the UNDP, around 80% of people globally want their governments to take stronger action on climate.

You wouldn’t think it if you look at the many elections that have been held this year, where climate change has only played a minor role - but people and companies are waking up to reality. Let's harness this undeniable momentum to drive change. 

And don’t let the discourse online tell you any different. Yes, misinformation and forceful discussions suggest there’s still a strong dissent around climate change. But it’s driven by a tiny group of real people and an army of bots. In the real world, most people understand the urgency; they know what needs to happen and that it needs to happen fast. 

It's Time to be honest with ourselves

We need to be honest about the role of technology in solving climate change. Our enthusiasm for all things new – I get it. Of course, we’re going to get excited when we read about some silver bullet – an exciting innovation that could potentially reduce carbon emissions. But let’s be honest: some new technologies and hype about them are just delaying tactics to keep burning fossil fuels. And no national level plans are credible if they rely on solutions that are still years away from being scalable and effective. We can't afford to bank our future on them.

When Climate Group looked at renewable deployment in the G20 last year, the biggest barriers to roll-out were policies, permitting and siting regulations. It’s not sexy stuff, but that's the hard work we need to focus on. And last but not least:

It's Time to have the difficult discussions about fossil fuels

We know that by 2050, there need to be very low levels of fossil fuels in the energy mix. But it still feels like every oil producing country and company thinks that it’s them that will be selling that last barrel.  

How are we going to resolve the geopolitics of that? And how do we get fossil fuel companies to actually shift their business models, when we know that what they’re more focused on is maximising their short-term profits and spreading disinformation? 

This is the fight of our lives. It’s an enormous challenge that involves undoing decades of influence, lobbying and systems that have benefited the fossil fuel industry for far too long. It’s about fundamentally re-engineering an economy of the past to build a better future that benefits us all.

So, five key principles that should underpin all our action. 

Together, we’ve shown change is possible. Through relentless investment in renewables, energy efficiency, innovation, by inspiring one other, advocating for landmark legislation, and fighting lawsuits. Every EV that comes off the conveyor belt, every solar panel installed, every green policy passed, is a win that brings us closer to where we need to be.

Later we’ll share our Global To-Do list, seven key actions that we need to start taking tomorrow that would drive results in the next year, by next Climate Week NYC. Actions on renewables, on blast furnaces, on methane and more – tangible actions, based on these principles. 

What we’ve achieved in the last decade is remarkable - but we cannot stop here. We must aim higher, be bolder, and keep pushing forward. How the future will judge us depends on the action we take right now.

It's Time.

Thank you.

A Climate Week NYC overview

Climate Week NYC 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. Each year, business leaders, political change makers, local decision takers and civil society representatives of all ages and backgrounds, from all over the world, gather to drive the transition, speed up progress, and champion change that is already happening. 

Climate Week NYC is hosted by Climate Group, an international non-profit whose purpose is to drive climate action, fast. Climate Group hosts the official program during the week that brings together the most senior international figures from business, government, civil society and the climate sector. 

This year, Climate Week NYC is being held from September 22-29, 2024. 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.