Hill Heat

Join philanthropic leaders, journalists, and media innovators to explore why storytelling might be one of the most overlooked — and underinvested — levers for driving climate action.

Despite growing public concern about climate change, climate philanthropy remains less than 2% of overall philanthropic giving. At the same time, millions of people continue to receive limited, inconsistent, or highly polarized information about climate risks and solutions. As funders seek the highest-leverage opportunities to accelerate climate action, an important question emerges: Is strengthening climate journalism one of the most underinvested climate solutions available today?

This discussion will bring together philanthropic leaders, climate journalists, and media innovators to explore the role of journalism in shaping public understanding, informing decision-makers, and creating the conditions for durable climate progress. Panelists will examine how philanthropic investments can expand high-quality climate reporting, reach audiences beyond traditional environmental circles, elevate local and community-based stories, and counter misinformation without compromising journalistic independence. The conversation will also explore what funders can learn from successful investments in media and narrative change, where the greatest funding gaps exist today, and how strategic support for journalism can help unlock progress across climate mitigation, resilience, public health, economic development, and environmental justice. Following the panel discussion, leaders of five journalism non-profits in the climate space will deliver concise, high-impact pitches tailored to philanthropists and philanthropic advisors interested in supporting essential climate reporting and communication.

For funders looking to maximize impact, this session will consider whether supporting climate journalism is not simply a communications strategy, but a critical investment in the infrastructure of climate action itself.

8:45am – Doors Open

9:00am – Welcome Remarks:

• Philippe Roesle, CEO and Consul, Swissnex in Boston and New York
• Randall Kempner, Executive Director, Climate Philanthropy Catalyst Coalition

9:15am – Panel Discussion

• Nikhil Swaminathan, CEO, Grist
• Sean Harder, Senior Communications Officer, MacArthur Foundation
• Emily Holden, Founder, Floodlight, Co-Chair, Climate News Task Force
• Paula Dupraz-Dobias, International Journalist & Producer

10:00am – Climate Journalism Solutions Showcase

• Sentient: Ana Bradley, Executive Director
• Green Philly: Julie Hancher, Co-Founder & Editor
• Canary Media: Nicholas Rinaldi, General Manager
• Mongabay: Rhett Butler, Founder & CEO

11:00am – Networking

12:00pm – End

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Join Climate Defiance for our fourth annual Climate Week Dinner and Fundraiser featuring Gov Jay Inslee and Democratic Congressional candidates Rep. Chris Rabb, Melat Kiros, Dr. Adam Hamawy, and Justin Pearson.

Host committee: Emily Gallagher, Chi Ossé, Jane Kim, Gil Duran, David Roberts, Steven Donziger, Emma Vigeland, Abby Stein, Josh Fox, Michael Mezz, Amy Westervelt, Birdie Sam, Davidson Boswell. Nico Agosta.

In the Upper West Side, address provided with ticket purchase.

Tickets $500 and up. VIP reception ($1000) at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6:30 pm, afterparty at 9 pm.

Join us for a panel & podcast recording (followed by happy hour!) about how local leaders are standing up to the rapid expansion of AI data centers to protect their communities, their utility bills, our water, and our climate.

New York State Representative Emily Gallagher, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard, and Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis will be in conversation with The Hum host Saul Levin and Lead Locally about what communities are facing on the ground and how elected officials and people-powered movements can push back and win.

Lead Locally and The Hum will be joined by Oil Change International, Climate Defenders, Climate and Community Institute, the DNC Climate Caucus, and Third Act for this incredible conversation.

Across the country, big tech companies are jamming through hundreds of new data centers to power their AI models. While the profits go to some of the world’s richest men, the costs are being thrust on neighboring communities. Massive water consumption. Increased pollution when utilities turn to fossil fuels to meet growing energy needs. And in many places, rising utility bills for families who never asked for any of it.

The panel will explore the huge problems of AI data centers and the tools local officials are using effectively to reduce harm. Panelists will share lessons from their own fights (like the successful passage of New York’s data center moratorium) and discuss how advocates and elected leaders can work together to win stronger protections. This panel will be recorded live for The Hum, a podcast telling the story of fights against data centers.

After the conversation, stick around for a romping happy hour to meet fellow climate and data center organizers working to fight back against the Big Tech and Big Oil!

Participants:

• New York State Representative Emily Gallagher
• Georgia Public Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard
• Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis
• The Hum host Saul Levin

We Build Progress, Public Citizen, Climate Justice Alliance and partners will convene state and local policymakers, advocates, organizers, and policy experts during NYC Climate Week to launch a new Data Center Policy Toolkit, an interactive resource designed to help communities respond to the rapid expansion of data centers across the country and equip policymakers with practical tools to address the harms of data center development.

​Driven in part by the growth of artificial intelligence, data centers are placing increasing demands on communities’ power grids, water supplies, and other vital resources. Data centers currently account for approximately 4.4% of U.S. electricity consumption, with that share projected to rise to 12% by 2028. The rapid pace of development is mobilizing communities across the country, while policymakers are seeking practical tools to respond to this urgent policy challenge.

​The new toolkit meets this need with expert-informed, customizable legislative templates addressing issues including energy and water use, pollution and environmental impacts, permitting and zoning, subsidies, transparency and reporting, and approaches to development moratoriums, restrictions, and prohibitions. Its flexible approach is designed to help communities respond to data center harms based on local priorities, whether they are addressing proposed data center development or facilities already operating.

​The Climate Week event will feature a moderated discussion with policymakers, advocates, and organizers working on the front lines of data center development and regulation, followed by a networking reception.

​The discussion will feature the following experts:

• Katie Thomas, Director of Livable Futures, We Build Progress (Moderator)
• Melanie Sachs, District 102, Freeport, Maine House of Representatives
• ​Anna Kelles, District 125, Ithaca, New York State Assembly
• ​KD Minor, Community Solutions Manager, Alliance for Affordable Energy, Louisiana
• Mar Zepeda, Legislative Director, Climate Justice Alliance

​About The Data Center Policy Toolkit:

​The Data Center Policy Toolkit is an interactive, first-of-its-kind resource providing policymakers and engaged organizers with legislative templates to address data centers at the state and local level. Its customizable language is designed to help users develop policies across a range of data center issues, including energy and water use, pollution and environmental impacts, permitting and zoning, subsidies, transparency and reporting, and approaches to development moratoriums, restrictions, and prohibitions.

​The toolkit was developed by We Build Progress, Climate XChange, Public Citizen, Model Climate Law Initiative, Rooted Futures Lab, Run on Climate, Climate Justice Alliance, Environmental Law Institute, Good Jobs First, Houston Advanced Research Center, National Association of Clean Air Agencies, State Innovation Exchange, Young Gifted and Green, AI Now Institute, Memphis Community Against Pollution, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

Civic Hall, New York, NY

We are excited to share that this vital conversation convenes a powerhouse lineup of community leaders, mayors, scientists, researchers, and journalists. Across three dynamic panel conversations, we’ll examine the collision of technology, energy, and democracy; the rapid expansion of AI data centers; the legacy of nuclear weapons; the toll of these developments on Indigenous communities, communities of color, and rural areas; and the affordability crisis and what it will take for everyday people to build power and shape real solutions.

Together, these conversations connect today’s most pressing challenges to a larger question: How do communities organize and build power within democratic structures when government and industry leave them behind?

AI’s Hidden Toll

• LaTricea Adams, President & CEO, Young, Gifted & Green, Memphis
• Manish Bapna, President & CEO, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC
• Mayor Kate Gallego, City of Phoenix

Tishman Auditorium, The New School

Moderator

• Adam Mahoney, National Climate and Environment Reporter, Capital B News, New Orleans

Nuclear Legacy: Mapping Local Impacts

• Lilly Adams, Co-Creator, US Nuclear Impacts Map, Brooklyn, New York
• Moñeka De Oro, Co-Executive Director, Micronesia Climate Change Alliance, Guam/Guåhan
• Leona Morgan (Diné), Indigenous Community Organizer and Anti-Nuclear Activist, Diné No Nukes, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Moderator

• Sharon Weinberger, Editor-in-Chief, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Washington, DC

Power in Our Hands: Solutions for an Affordable, Just Future

• Dr. Ana Isabel Baptista, Associate Professor of Environmental & Climate Justice at the Parsons School of Design and Director, Tishman Environment & Design Center at The New School, New York
• Dr. Gretchen Goldman, President & CEO, Union of Concerned Scientists, Washington, DC
• Bill McKibben, Author, Educator, Activist, and Founder, Third Act & 350.org, Vermont
• Mayor Michelle Wu, City of Boston

Moderator

• Garrison Hayes, Correspondent, Mother Jones, Nashville

Beyond Bretton Woods and Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO) have the pleasure to invite you to the soft launch of “THE SANTA MARTA CENTRAL BANK INNOVATION PLATFORM – THE IMAGINABLE IN TIMES OF THE INEVITABLE” at NY Climate Week.

​At Santa Marta (Colombia), on the first Fossil Free conference the “Santa Marta Transition and Financial Stability Group” was launched in April 2026. Foundational to this group is the creation of the Santa Marta Central Bank Innovation Platform.

The platform exists to accelerate and scale the execution of novel, unique just-transition solutions within the central bank policy framework. It does so by mainstreaming and shaping “out-of-the-box” ideas that seek a fit within the widening mandate scope of central banks.

​This event brings together expert panel members for a deliberate three-part conversation, a trifecta spanning science, central bank monetary policy, and investment allocation decision making.

​Please register to attend.

​Panelists

• ​Sarah Bloom Raskin – Distinguished Professor of the Practice, Duke University School of Law School; Former Deputy Secretary of the United States Treasury; Former Governor of the Federal Reserve Board
• Julie Delongchamp – Head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investment, Client Platform, Wellington Management
• ​Professor Michael Mann – Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth & Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania
• Jwala Rambarran – Co-director, Santa Marta Transition and Financial Stability Group
• ​Jens van ’t Klooster – Associate Professor of Political Economy, University of Amsterdam

​Moderator

• ​Frank Van Gansbeke - co-founder, Beyond Bretton Woods

530 7th Ave ste 902
New York, NY

In honor of Climate Week, join us for a conversation about what it will take to build a more just and sustainable future.

As the impacts of climate change intensify, the question is no longer whether we must transform the systems that power our lives, it is how. In July 2025, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion affirming that nations have a legal obligation to take meaningful action to address climate change, particularly industrialized nations that have contributed most to the crisis. The ruling underscores an urgent challenge: how can we build a postcarbon future that not only reduces emissions, but also creates more just, equitable, and resilient communities?

This conversation takes inspiration from Billy Fleming’s new book, Building Postcarbon Futures: Land, Justice, and Energy Transitions, which highlights 29 innovative climate justice projects from around the world. From Indigenous-led wildfire management in Australia and geothermal energy development in British Columbia to social housing initiatives in São Paulo, these case studies illustrate how communities are reimagining the relationship between people, land, energy, and the built environment.

Drawing on these examples, Fleming joins leading voices in climate policy, architecture, planning, and law including Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Daniel Aldana Cohen, and Keller Easterling, to explore what it will take to create a more sustainable and equitable future. Together, they’ll examine how the decisions we make today, from infrastructure investments to land use and energy policy, can help address the climate crisis while advancing environmental justice for generations to come.

Participants:

• Billy Fleming, moderator
• Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
• Daniel Aldana Cohen
• Keller Easterling

Participants

Daniel Aldana Cohen works on the intersections of the climate emergency, housing, political economy, social movements, and inequalities of race and class in the United States and Brazil. Cohen is assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is director of the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, and serves as a faculty affiliate in the graduate program on political economy. He is also a founding co-director of the Climate and Community Institute, a progressive climate and economy think tank. Cohen’s research and writing have been published widely in both academic journals and public outlets. He is the co-author of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal (2019).

Keller Easterling is a designer, writer, and the Enid Storm Dwyer Professor of Architecture at Yale. Her forthcoming book,Your Land, tells the story of land activism in the US after the civil rights movement. Previous books include Medium Design (2021) and Extrastatecraft: The Power of Infrastructure Space (2014), among others. Easterling has lectured and exhibited internationally. Her research and writing were included in the 2014 and 2018 Venice Biennales. Easterling is a 2019 United States Artist in Architecture and Design and the 2026 recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Architecture.

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University and a fellow at the Climate and Community Institute. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books Elite Capture and Reconsidering Reparations, a contributor to Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book, and a past recipient of a Marguerite Casey Freedom Scholar fellowship.

The conversation will be moderated by Billy Fleming, a leading voice on the role of design in responding to the climate crisis in our cities, communities, and landscapes. Fleming is a founding codirector of the Climate and Community Institute and assistant professor of landscape architecture at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia. Previously, he was the inaugural Wilks Family Director of the Ian L. McHarg Center at the University of Pennsylvania and an urban policy advisor to the Obama administration. He is coeditor of Design with Nature Now (2019) and A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation: Uniting Design, Economics, and Policy (2021).

Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

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Climate Defenders is a multigenerational and multiracial action home rising up against the oil industry to protect our planet and our communities.

Join us for a night of good vibes, drinks, and music. Paid tickets optional. Stay past 9 PM for the after-party featuring Groove Atlas and Ethan Buckner.

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Bowery Palace
327 Bowery
New York, NY 10003

Please join us in welcoming Permian Gulf Coast Coalition members traveling to New York Climate Week this year!

Developed in 2019, the Permian Gulf Coast Coalition (PGCC) is made up of frontline environmental justice groups from New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana organizing together to protect their communities from the petrochemical infrastructure buildout sourced from the Permian Basin in Southeast NM and West TX, and is making it’s debut at NY Climate Week 2026! Join us for our panel event An Afternoon with the PGCC: Stories from the Permian Gulf, with a lineup of coalition members that includes:

• Armon Alex, Gulf of Mexico Youth Climate Summit & Coalition Steering Committee member
• Eli Hilbert, Texas Permian Future Generations
• Feleecia Guillen, New Mexico No False Solutions Coalition
• Kaitlyn Joshua, Earthworks
• Melanie Oldham, Better Brazoria: Clean Air and Water
• Dr. Roishetta Ozane, The Vessel Project of Louisiana

Facilitated by Ricky Gonzalez, Planet over Profit NYC

Come hear what site fights PGCC members are organizing around, how the coalition came to be and what initiatives its has planned for the next year!

YA-YA Network NYC
135 W 36th St. PH
New York, NY 10018

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An event of Heatmap News’s Heatmap House.

According to Heatmap News, the Inflation Reduction Act changed everything for U.S. climate policy. What comes next might, too. From the politics shaping America’s energy future to the investments and technologies that will define it, leading voices across politics, government, business, and climate tech will take stock of what the IRA built — and what comes next.

​10:45am: Doors Open

​11:00-11:20am: 20 Years After An Inconvenient Truth

​* Former Vice President Al Gore, Founder and Chairman, Climate Reality Project

​Moderated by Robinson Meyer, Founding Executive Editor, Heatmap News

​11:20-11:35am: The Politics of What Comes Next

• ​Chris Hayes, Host, All In with Chris Hayes, MS NOW

​11:35-11:45am: A Bipartisan Energy Future

• ​James Dozier, Founding President & Board Chair

​Moderated by Nico Lauricella, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Heatmap News

​11:45-12:00pm: What the IRA Built

• ​Brian Deese, Co-founder and CEO, Foundry-Logic, and former Director of the White House National Economic Council

​12:00-12:15pm: What Climate Tech Needs Now

• ​Dawn Lippert, Founder and CEO, Elemental Impact and General Partner, Earthshot Ventures

​Moderated by Katie Brigham, Staff Writer, Heatmap News

​12:15-12:30pm: America’s Energy Path

• ​Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

​Moderated by Robinson Meyer, Founding Executive Editor, Heatmap News

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22 Vanderbilt
335 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10017, USA