UNFCCC Executive Secretariat Patricia Espinosa will deliver a keynote speech today, September 24th, to kick-off the 10th annual Climate Week NYC, where government ministers, investors, governors, CEOs, and mayors from around the world are coming together to shape markets and set policies for climate action. During the Opening Ceremony, the “Step-up” message of the Global Climate Action Summit held earlier this month in San Francisco will be delivered to New York, where national governments are currently gathered for the UN General Assembly.
Several world leaders and senior business figures will be present to mark the beginning of Climate Week NYC 2018. President Jovenel Moïse, Republic of Haiti; Rt. Hon Jacinda Ardern MP, Prime Minister of New Zealand; President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Costa Rica; President Hilda Heine, Marshall Islands; and President Martín Vizcarra, Peru, have all been announced to speak in the first session of the Opening Ceremony on September 24. Jake Yamashita, CEO of Ricoh; Jens Birgersson, CEO of ROCKWOOL Group; Francesco Starace, CEO of ENEL; Stephen Badger, Chairman of Mars Inc.; Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft; Nathaniel Bullard, Global Head of Executive Insights at Bloomberg NEF; Fleming Voetmann, VP of the International Copper Association; and Robin Chase, co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, will also take the stage during the Opening Ceremony.
During the Opening Ceremony, it is anticipated that governments and other representatives will back the call to step-up national commitments by 2020 so that they are on-track with achieving the Paris Agreement, and that Global Business Leaders will explain how their industries are stepping-up, reflecting on what position they think their own business should be in by 2020 and underlining the economic case for long-term plans in-line with achieving the Paris Agreement.
Beyond the opening event, over the course of Climate Week NYC 2018, running from September 24-30th, there will be panel discussions, concerts, exhibitions, and seminars, where individuals and organizations can help advance the debate, drive awareness, and keep climate action at the top of the global agenda. Businesses, governments, academic institutions, arts and music organizations, and NGOs will host these events during the week at various locations across New York City.
Some of the highlights in this year’s agenda, which includes over 100 events, are the High-level discussion on Financing Climate Futures: Rethinking Infrastructure, hosted by the OECD, UN Environment, and the World Bank Group on September 25th; the One Planet Summit, co-hosted by French President Macron and UN Special Envoy for Climate Action Michael Bloomberg on September 26th; and Momentum for Change: Announcement of 2018 UN Climate Action Winners, hosted by UN Climate Change and The Climate Group on September 27th. For a full schedule of events, check out the Events Program.
Follow live-streaming of the Climate Week NYC 2018 Opening Ceremony today at 9am EST on The Climate Group’s Facebook page or on UN Web TV.
Climate Week NYC is run by The Climate Group in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York. It represents another key moment in 2018 to showcase climate action from around the world and to gather political support for a strong outcome at the upcoming UNFCCC COP24 in December in Katowice, Poland.
