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

RSVP

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.

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

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

RSVP

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

Has climate storytelling entered a new phase amidst the virtual disappearance of “net zero” goals and a more uncertain period for electrification, decarbonization and the energy transition? Journalists from the Financial Times, the Washington Post and Canary Media will join us for the 4th installment of Antenna Group’s media panel at New York Climate Week to discuss this. The panel will cover additional insights from the newsrooms they work in, including their take on the news cycles around AI data centers, putting the economic value of climate tech more front and center, and other topics with major implications for climate and energy storytelling.

Moderator:

• Isaac Steinmetz | VP Media | Antenna Group

​Panelists:

• ​Martha Muir | US Energy Reporter | Financial Times
• ​Evan Halper | Business Reporter | Washington Post
• ​Maria Gallucci | Senior Reporter | Canary Media

LUME Studios
393 Broadway, New York, NY 10013, USA

RSVP

On Wednesday, September 23 at Convene 75 Rockefeller Plaza, Ceres at Climate Week NYC hosts a full day of flagship programming focused on the issues shaping the next phase of the clean energy transition. Together on Ceres’ mainstage, policymakers, investors, companies, and key stakeholders will convene for critical conversations on building a cleaner, more just economy. Take part in shaping what comes next.

Due to overwhelming interest, we’re excited to offer a livestream broadcast of the Mainstage program. Whether you’re a sustainability ally around the nation and globe, or in NYC and unable to attend the in-person event, we invite you to tune in live or on-demand.

9 am - 10 am Financing Our Future: Unlocking Capital for Deployment and Innovation

Investments in the clean energy economy stand at $2.3 Trillion annually and are growing rapidly. Real economy allocations amplify this generational opportunity for innovation and scaling the technologies of the future. This program will examine the structural barriers limiting capital flows into clean energy deployment and innovation, and explore how investors and businesses can accelerate investment in climate solutions that improve resiliency, efficiency, and long-term competitiveness.

Participants:

• Peter Cashion, Managing Investment Director for Sustainable Investments, CalPERS *Dan Firger Founder and Managing Partner, Great Circle Capital Advisors,
• Neal Kemkar, Chief Network Officer, Ceres
• Mark Levine, Comptroller, City of New York
• Mindy Lubber, CEO and President, Ceres
• Cynthia McHale, Vice President, Investor Network, Ceres
• Benjamin Pickett, Executive Vice President, Nucor
• Marcus von Kapff, Advanced Manufacturing Lead, Security and Resiliency Initiative, JPMorganChase

10:10 - 10:50am State Leadership: Opportunities in an Era of Transformation

States have always served as the proving grounds of innovation and where competing visions of the future are explored. Governors from red and blue states will share perspectives about balancing economic development, affordability and energy, community resiliency, and investment priorities while leading through a period of rapid change. They will also discuss advancing long-term competitiveness in a polarized political environment.

Participating elected leaders to be announced soon.

Participants:

• Andrew Collier, Director, Freedom to Invest, Ceres
• Dr. Noel Hacegaba, CEO, Port of Long Beach
• Anne L. Kelly, Vice President, Government Relations, Ceres

11:00am - 12:00pm Powering the Digital Economy: Sustainable Data Centers

AI Implementation is accelerating, and data centers are driving energy and water demand. The opportunity is massive to build sustainably and incorporate clean energy and water innovations, ensuring sustainable operations, affordability, and community benefits. The program will explore risks and opportunities and highlight practical approaches for scaling digital infrastructure responsibly and efficiently.

Participants:

• Steven Clarke, Program Director, Climate and Energy, Ceres
• Abre’ Conner, Director of the Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, NAACP
• Anna Foglesong, Executive Director, Connected Grid Initiative (CGI)
• Erika Gupta, SVP & Head of Sustainability, Siemens Financial Services
• Doreen Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA
• Aaron Johnson, Senior VP and Chief Sustainability Officer, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• Steven Rothstein, Chief Program Officer, Ceres
• Craig Sundstrom, Head of Energy and Sustainability Public Policy, Americas, Amazon Web Service (AWS)

A Main Stage session.

It’s boom time for the AI buildout, and cities across the country are scrambling to keep up. Data centers arrive with a voracious appetite for energy and billions in capital investment, bringing relatively minimal permanent jobs and varied effects on water use and community well-being. All of it lands on the grid, land, and water systems for which mayors are accountable. We hear from three mayors navigating the challenges and opportunities of this new era of industrialization.

Speakers:

• Daniel Rickenmann, Mayor, Columbia, South Carolina
• Kate Gallego, Mayor, Phoenix, Arizona
• Justin Bibb, Mayor, Cleveland, Ohio
• Kate Wright, Executive Director, Climate Mayors

Join 7 Directions of Service during Climate Week NYC for an Indigenous-led conversation examining the hidden connections between the rapid growth of data centers and AI, increasing electricity demand, fossil fuel infrastructure, water consumption, land acquisition, and threats to Indigenous and frontline communities.

RSVP

Location TBA.