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

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post Your Guide to New York City Climate Week appeared first on City Limits.

On Monday evening, Amelia Santaniello did something she hasn’t done in ages. She left work for the day while the sun was still shining.

The longime WCCO-TV anchor began her new schedule this week, which saw her move to anchor the 4 p.m. newscast and depart the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts she had co-anchored with her husband, Frank Vascellaro, for more than two decades. They are continuing to anchor the 6 p.m. news as a pair.

“It’s really great, I’m really enjoying it,” said Santaniello, 60. “Working nights, there are a lot of people I haven’t seen in a while and that’s great. I like the energy and I like doing the (4 p.m.) show. I think it’s exactly what I needed. After doing 40 years of hard news, and 30 years here, it’s just nice to have this variety. This change is good.”

At 4, Santaniello is working with Erin Hassanzadeh, whose former on-air partner Jeff Wagner has taken over the station’s popular “Good Question” segment. The hour favors features and longer interviews over breaking news, which appealed to Santaniello.

“I had foot surgery this summer and I was off for four weeks. I think that’s when is started to think about the grind of doing the news. I feel like since the pandemic, the news cycle has been nonstop and just sort of relentless. Being off for that month made me realize I need a break, a mental break, from it,” she said.

Santaniello said she had previously talked to the 4 p.m. producer about her interest in the time slot. When the position opened up, the station’s news director came to her with an offer.

“At first, I thought I was going to do the 4, 5, 6 and 10,” she said. “I’ve done that before, filling in. But then they told me I wouldn’t be doing the 10. It didn’t take me long to say that sounds good to me. I thought this is what I need. And I would love to change my hours.” (Santaniello’s workday went from 2:30 to 10:30 p.m. to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m

Given her high profile in the community, it wasn’t a surprise to see Santaniello post a video to Facebook making it clear there were absolutely no issues going on with her husband. She laughed when asked about it.

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“Oh, my gosh, it’s funny. No, there’s no trouble in this marriage. In fact, we do laugh about it. And perhaps this will make it stronger. You know, a little time apart. And he’s been extremely supportive because he knows I’m happy. I think he was maybe a little hesitant because we’ve been a team for 20 years here. I love working with the team, too, but I (still) work with him at 6. It’s strange not being with him at 10, but I think that was his only concern.”

So what did she end up doing Monday evening?

“I went home and a friend called and said they were watching the Vikings game and do I want to come over? So I went over to watch the Vikings game,” Santaniello said.

“Just being able to come home, wind down and just kind of have my evening, you know? I can settle in with a book or watch a movie or go to bed early. I will watch the 10 p.m. news, but if I go to bed early, I’m not going to feel guilty.”

Current and former elected officials who have experienced political violence directly in the United States reacted with sympathy and horror Wednesday to the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at an event in Utah. Kirk served as chief executive and cofounder of the youth organization Turning Point USA.

Nancy Pelosi

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, posted that “the horrific shooting today at Utah Valley University is reprehensible. Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation.” Pelosi’s husband was seriously injured at their California home in 2022 by a man wielding a hammer, who authorities said was a believer in conspiracy theories.

Donald Trump

President Donald Trump, who suffered a minor ear injury when he was shot at a campaign event last year, posted on Truth Social describing Kirk as a “great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” He also posted, “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.”

Gabrielle Giffords

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat who suffered a serious brain injury from a 2011 shooting in Arizona, said she was “horrified” to hear of Kirk’s shooting. “Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” she said on social media.

Steve Scalise

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican who was shot at practice for a charity baseball game in the Virginia suburbs in 2017, asked people on the social media platform X to “please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk after this senseless act.” The man who attacked Scalise had grievances against Trump and Republicans and was later fatally shot by police.

Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and potential national candidate, said on X, “We must speak with moral clarity. The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.” A fire was set at his house earlier this year while Shapiro and family members were asleep.

Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who was the subject of a kidnapping plot, said on social media that “we should all come together to stand up against any and all forms of political violence.” Two men were imprisoned for their 2020 plot to kidnap the governor during her first term.

By ED WHITE, Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — A young Chinese scientist interrogated for hours after an international flight to Detroit and held in jail for three months was sentenced to time served Wednesday for illegally shipping biological material to the U.S. that nonetheless wasn’t a threat to the public.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman acknowledged that federal agents have a critical role in stopping “bad actors” from trying to get “bad stuff” into the country. But he also noted that Chengxuan Han, who was headed to a one-year job at a University of Michigan lab, doesn’t appear to fit that category.

“That’s the appropriate balance to strike here,” the judge said in declining to keep Han locked up for another three months as the government had suggested.

Han cried as she spoke to the judge in Mandarin and expressed regret for a “very painful” lesson. She said her career will be “destroyed” when she soon returns to China.

“Government agents are doing their duties here. … I really have no intention to harm anybody and create a security hazard,” Han said through a translator.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit has used unflattering language in promoting the case against Han, even referring to her as an “alien from Wuhan,” a Chinese city that became notorious as the possible source for the global spread of COVID-19.

Han is “not some sort of Chinese operative,” defense attorney Sara Garber said in a court filing, describing her as a “nerdy, kind and polite academic.”

Han, who is in her late 20s, pleaded no contest to smuggling and making false statements. Before her arrival in the U.S., authorities said she made three shipments to someone in Ann Arbor, Michigan, including a book with a hidden envelope that contained filter paper with 28 shapes containing plasmids, which are found naturally in bacteria.

“Hello! This is a fun letter with interesting patterns. I hope you can enjoy the pleasure within it,” Han wrote.

Han was also accused of sending petri dishes that contained nematode worms, known as C. Elegans. Authorities said the packages were not properly labeled and that Han didn’t have approval to ship them.

“C. Elegans is easy to obtain, easy to study, nonharmful,” Garber said.

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She said Han’s research focuses on how organisms detect light, touch and temperature.

“This is not a case of smuggling in some sort of virus or a crop-destroying something or other,” the judge said. “From what I can tell, this material was not a threat at all.”

Han’s case is one of two involving Chinese scientists and the University of Michigan. Yunqing Jian is charged with conspiring with her boyfriend, another scientist from China, to bring a toxic fungus into the U.S. Fusarium graminearum can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice.

It is already found in the East and Upper Midwest, and scientists have been studying it for decades. Jian’s case is pending.