Climate Week NYC (CWNYC) 2024 saw thousands of people descend on New York to share insights and ideas. The week serves as a critical platform for discussions on climate action, bringing people from around the world together – business leaders, policymakers, civil society and environmentalists alike. As we ran around the city attending events, several key themes stood out.
Nature’s power players
A central topic of the week was the role of nature-positive actions and investment in nature-climate solutions (NCS). The World Climate Foundation’s Biodiversity Summit reminded us that nature and climate are two sides of the same coin – both need to be tackled simultaneously if we’re to meet our global goals. Yet, there remains a significant financial gap in investments. In 2023, $7 trillion was invested in activities harmful to nature, while only $200 billion flowed into nature-positive solutions.
It was encouraging to see notable commitments made at CWNYC to change this, such as Brazil’s state of Pará securing $180 million from the LEAF Coalition to reduce deforestation and the Moore Foundation’s catalytic capital fund aimed at supporting ecosystems in the Amazon, Chaco and Cerrado regions. If other backers can be secured, the fund has the potential to disburse $500 million by 2030 and leverage $2.5 billion in commercial capital, delivering a positive impact on 1.25 million hectares.
The involvement of indigenous peoples and local communities is also essential to the success of nature-based projects, from forest restoration to regenerative agriculture. Indigenous peoples protect 80% of global biodiversity, yet they represent just 5% of the global population. Protecting their rights and recognising their knowledge is vital in preserving ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest, which is not just a carbon sink but a home to most of the world’s biodiversity.
Costing it up with consistent data
In the private sector, investors showed continued momentum towards sustainability. There was encouraging news from the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, representing $9.5 trillion in assets, which has reduced its financed emissions by 30% since 2018. By gathering and harmonising data from their investee companies, investors are increasingly acting on the commercial value of decarbonisation and seeking to better understand the full cost of inaction to scale up investments.
Our client Sabre, a global travel tech company, emphasised the importance of mainstreaming sustainability in the travel industry, highlighting the urgency to reduce emissions and meet 2030 climate targets. For example, in its mission to establish sustainability as an industry standard, the organisation works closely with partners including Travalyst and Google to integrate consistent, reliable data about flight emissions to help travellers make more-informed choices. The travel industry at large is responsible for up to 10% of global GDP and, as such, has an opportunity to lead the way when it comes to reducing environmental impact, at both the corporate and the consumer level.
From crops to couture
Food and fashion are very much linked – both industries’ supply chains start with agriculture with much shared ESG risk, from emissions to human rights. When it comes to data, however, there is a lack of information and transparency. Solutions for making the supply chain less opaque are already starting to gain momentum to address these sustainability issues, but we need action and investment to deploy at scale.
For now, and while consumers have the power to influence companies with their choices, corporates in both sectors need to ramp up their action to really move the needle on sustainability. Sustainability measures of success need to focus on impact, not output. Moreover, these metrics need as much focus as company financial performance, with accountability baked in at levels of organisations. Because there is no fashion or food without sustainable systems.
What’s next?
CWNYC 2024 emphasised many successes and the ways in which corporates can play a pivotal role in driving change. From integrating nature-positive actions to scaled-up investment in decarbonisation efforts, businesses must demand and leverage transparent ESG data, and embed sustainability into core business models.
Events like these are a great opportunity to share best practice, but real impact comes from meaningful, measurable action. The overall theme ‘It’s Time’ highlighted the need to accelerate progress as we look ahead to COP29 and beyond. Only then can the private sector lead in shaping a more sustainable and equitable future.
