Reflections on New York Climate Week
Our Acting Head of Development, Shannon Kessell, reflects on attending New York Climate Week.
At New York Climate Week last month, it felt (at times) like standing in the middle of two worlds.
On one hand, the most dynamic gathering of people determined to tackle climate change with urgency, hope, and innovation. On the other, the usual political theatre amidst the searing heat, protest placards, helicopters circling, and speeches at the UN designed to sow doubt about the very emergency unfolding around us.
Walking between those two realities (with blisters to prove it) was perhaps the best metaphor for where the climate movement stands today – a juxtaposition of bold solutions and outdated refusal to face the facts.
At Cool Earth, our purpose is to back the people living in and protecting the rainforest. This is why I found myself particularly tuned into conversations at NY Climate Week that were not only focused on tech or cash, but also on rights, co-design, and justice. Unless the communities on the frontlines are true partners rather than just beneficiaries, none of these solutions will last.
The stand out sessions from New York Climate Week
The provocatively titled F*CK DOOM launch at Solutions House did exactly what its name suggested. It challenged despair. Too often, climate communications labour in the shadow of catastrophe. This event cut through the doomism gripping many young people and reframed the moment as one of agency rather than apathy. I left reminded that tone matters in charity communications, in mobilisation, and in the way we build donor confidence. Fear paralyses, but hope gets people moving.
One of the most powerful sessions for me was How Listening to Environmental Defenders Builds Stronger Climate Solutions. Hosted by Global Witness, The Goldman Prize, and Futerra, it spotlighted the voices of frontline defenders. The message was clear. Climate strategies rooted in rights are not optional extras, they are prerequisites to lasting change. It echoed something we know all too well at Cool Earth. Communities driving their own solutions achieve impact that outsiders alone never could.
And then there was Let’s Make a (Brand) Deal. The corporate sector is key in the fight against the climate crisis. It can provide much-needed resources, flexibility and creativity when others cannot. The conversations about aligning brand ambition with credible climate action flowed. We’ve seen this happen at Cool Earth, with multiple corporate partnerships that protect thousands of acres of at-risk rainforest. There is so much more to be done. If billions spent on selling products can be rerouted towards the survival of the rainforest, then it is worth serious attention.
My key takeaway from New York
By the close of New York Climate Week, I was left with two truths. First, the need for urgency is greater than ever. Rights are under threat, frontline communities remain excluded, and political denial still permeates. Second, solutions are already in motion. They are diverse, practical, and often led by those most affected, from co-designed (Indigenous-led) tech in the Amazon to feminist-focused climate justice.
At Cool Earth, we will keep backing rainforests because it is the smartest and fastest climate action available to us. If New York Climate Week offered anything, it was this. The stories we choose to amplify matter. We can rehearse the apocalypse, or we can rewrite the future. It’s time to choose.