Sustainability in September: today at Climate Week NYC– nothing like The Day After Tomorrow

On my flight out here, I watched The Day After Tomorrow. It’s a film set in New York, where a catastrophic climate event causes the city, and much of the Northern Hemisphere, to enter an immediate ice age. It’s a blockbuster drama with a contested scientific basis, but it starkly presents the (most dramatic) potential impacts that climate change could have on the world. It received a mixed reaction but was ahead of its time. Unfortunately, as I watched, I realised that not much has changed since the film was released in 2004. In fact, we are even further along the global warming trajectory.

The film clearly aimed for shock value—the worst imaginable climate disaster in human history. Perhaps the director hoped to ignite the debate around the climate emergency and spur action.

This kind of narrative is common in the climate world—often filled with doom and gloom, mixed in with damning warnings and studies that nearly always point to grave concerns about the future of our climate.

But as I sit here in New York (which, fortunately, isn’t experiencing an ice age like in the film), there is certainly optimism. Much of the focus here is on the opportunities that transitioning to a low-carbon economy brings, and how embracing technology and new ways of collaborating can drive progress. There's active discussion about the possibilities that climate tech and the energy transition offer to investors, companies, and individuals. That optimism is essential if we’re to get people behind the cause and moving progress forward.

Around me, automotive giants like GM are unveiling new fleets of EVs, while fossil fuel companies are pledging more and more investment in renewable energy production. Big data companies are working on new ways to analyse carbon emissions, and consultancies are figuring out how to apply these insights to design structures and organisations that can rise to the challenge.

One recurring theme in these conversations is that energy demand isn’t going away—it’s far too ingrained in everything we do. But we can change the supply, through a shift to renewables and mitigation efforts like carbon capture. These are the opportunities we need to embrace.

This morning, I attended a Rewired.Earth roundtable, where "opportunity" was a key focus, with exciting and pioneering advancements in data and the supply chains that support various industries. Today also marks the first day of the Nest Campus, one of the largest conference hubs at Climate Week NYC, with a packed main stage featuring politicians, NGOs, corporates, and other organisations.

There’s a palpable buzz at the Nest, as people exchange ideas, perspectives, and business cards—all focused on collaborating to address some of the biggest climate and nature-related challenges.

I’ve also heard that former President Donald Trump is expected to visit in the coming days. He has pledged to immediately halt and rescind all unspent funds from the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act if he regains the White House in November. This would undoubtedly set back the progress being made at events like Climate Week NYC. However, if enough optimism and market momentum embrace the opportunities of this transition, we can hope that progress will continue.