What started in 2009 to seek out climate commitments from business and government leaders attending the United Nations’ September General Assembly, Climate Week now includes hundreds of events citywide, both official and grassroots. Here’s how to get involved.
A youth-led protest in April 2024 urging bank giant Citigroup to divest from fossil fuels (Adi Talwar)
It’s that time of year again: the air is crisper, the leaves will soon be changing and New York City Climate Week is descending upon the Big Apple once more.
The week of Sept. 21-28 will be packed with events that draw attention to climate change and the ways in which communities are coming together to fight it. You can check out the full list of events here.
Hosted by the international nonprofit Climate Group, the annual event started in 2009 as a series of round table discussions with government heads and elite members of the business community who attended the United Nations General Assembly in September. The idea was to drum up commitments from them to tackle climate change.
While it still hosts high-profile talks with global leaders, Climate Week NYC has grown to include programs by community organizations on the front lines of fighting climate change, which can post their events in the week’s official agenda.
It has also inspired local groups to launch their own versions, after the official event in recent years was criticized for including business leaders tied up in supporting fossil fuels.
Adam Lake, head of communications at Climate Group, says that pretty much any initiative can be featured in their events program as long it “has a positive role to play” in their mission to drive climate action. “We are trying to be a sort of catalyst for communities to do what they feel they need to do,” Lake said.
With over 900 events on the docket, this year’s line up of community-led events includes a panel discussion on tackling basement flooding by the Waterfront Alliance, and a walking tour of West Harlem hosted by WE ACT for Environmental Justice.
Then there is Black Earth Bright Futures, a series of film screenings presented by the Black Hive and Climate Justice Alliance to put community resilience in the spotlight.
“I often joke that even if we decide to cancel Climate Week, it’s still going to happen anyway because the community’s got it,” Lake pointed out. “I think that’s what makes Climate Week NYC genuinely unique, because it’s the only event of its kind that has that community element driving every single part of what we do.”
And community groups have indeed made Climate Week their own. They also hold the Climate Group to account. One of last year’s panel discussions, for example—“Can an Oil Company Lower Its Emissions?”—which featured the CEO of the American oil company Occidental Petroleum, was heavily criticized for involving the producers of the polluting fossil fuels that drive climate change.
“Climate week has become more of a moment for corporation after corporation to pretend they’re acting on climate,” said Keanu Arpels-Josiah, a climate justice organizer with Fridays for Future NYC.
But it has also led smaller groups to craft alternatives to the official version’s higher profile, invite-only events with global leaders, at a time when President Donald Trump is undermining climate progress on the federal front.
A rally last month against fracked gas pipelines in New York, which the Trump administration is looking to revive. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)
The president suspended new leasing and permitting for projects that generate clean electricity from wind. And his Big Beautiful Bill, now signed into law, rolls back billions in clean energy investments for climate programs and energy tax credits.
Among the local efforts to counter that, environmental justice group Uprose is hosting the “Climate Justice Lives Here” festival in Brooklyn from Sept. 22-26. The event will be an act of resistance and a way to show the world that Climate Week is more than just bringing together global leaders, members say.
“New York City is more than big corporations and the United Nations. It is neighborhoods and communities like Sunset Park, Red Hook and Bed-Stuy that are on the frontlines of making plans to address the climate crisis,” said Annecia Steiniger, climate justice organizer at Uprose.
“So this festival is a reminder that we are here and we can be in community together and discuss the future of fighting climate change,” she added.
City Limits put together a list of community-led events—including those that made it into the official Climate Group’s roundup, and those that didn’t—for those looking to get involved.
2025 International Coastal Cleanup at the Castle Hill YMCA
When: Sept. 20
What: Help remove trash from the East River in the Bronx
Climate justice marches
When: Sept. 20, 21 and 27
What: Three marches will be held during climate week to protest recent attempts by the Trump administration to embrace fossil fuels: the Make Billionaires Pay March, the New York Stands Up To Trump On Climate Town Hall, and the Sun Day Festival.
Sulfur Bottom
When: Sept. 20
What: An off-Broadway play staged at the Theater Center in Midtown on how the effects of pollution impact the lives of multiple generations of a family of color. Climate week performances will include post-show talks with local environmental justice groups.
E-Waste Drive at Battery Park City
When: Sept. 21
What: Dispose of electronic waste properly by dropping it off at Battery Park City
Street Works Earth
When: Sept. 21
What: A street arts and climate action festival in Jackson Heights, Queens, that will feature opportunities to make art in collaboration with local artists and talk about climate justice.
Resilience Rising at Rockaways
When: Sept. 21
What: A community effort to add native plants and restore the dunes on the Rockaways’ coastline to make it more resilient to sea-level rise, storm surges, and erosion.
The 5th Annual BIPOC Climate Justice Summit: Power Shift
When: Sept. 21
What: A full-day public event at Columbia University that will feature panels, interactive booths led by climate organizers in frontline communities, researchers, and public servants to advance climate justice.
Black Earth, Bright Futures
When: Sept. 22
What: Three film screenings about climate justice and community resilience that will also include conversation and good food.
Uprose’s Climate Justice Lives Here Festival
When: Sept. 22-26
What: From film screenings, to lunches, workshops and even a clothing swap, this community festival will put environmentally friendly practices in center stage.
From Risk to Resilience: Tackling Basement Flooding Through Equity and Reform
When: Sept. 22
What: A virtual panel that will look at the growing problem of basement flooding, and discuss opportunities to tackle the issue.
Rebuild by Design
When: September 23-28
What: Several days of lectures, walking tours and community celebrations led by the research hub Rebuild By Design will highlight strategies to merge design with policy and collaboration to build more climate resilient cities.
How to Tell the Methane Story: Making the Invisible Visible
When: Sept. 25
What: A panel discussion in Tribeca with Rollie Williams, creator of the YouTube channel Climate Town.
West Harlem Environmental Justice Walking Tour
When: Sept. 26
What: Walking tours of historic West Harlem that will point out environmental justice issues residents face thanks to climate change.
To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Mariana@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org
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