As the NYC streets were filled with heads of state and other world dignitaries for the United Nations General Assembly, climate enthusiasts too gathered across the city for NYC Climate Week. Spaces were held to discuss opportunities and shared goals around climate action and its many risks plaguing our present and future. Our team split up from the Financial District to uptown, taking away the following key themes and trends from Climate Week 2024:

• There is power in numbers for emerging managers: Despite a challenging environment for venture capital this past year, commitment to early-stage climate investment remains strong. We were specifically heartened to see increased collaboration amongst General Partners and Limited Partners interested in powering breakthroughs in climate innovation through events like Super-Climate, committed to supporting early-stage climate tech funds advancing pockets of unmet need to accelerate progress towards our climate goals. We also saw encouraging examples of investors working together – some to provide patient risk capital to foster innovation across climate solutions and others to provide venture/growth capital to take successful pilots to scale. This felt particularly critical to drive investments in emerging market climate solutions.
• The intersection of health and climate action is emerging as a critical topic: Climate change presents a growing risk to global human health. Changing weather patterns, the increasing spread of infectious diseases, and toxins and petrochemicals impacting our safety and quality of life. Those people who are already most vulnerable to health risks and climate disasters are most impacted. This year, the nexus of climate and health took a more visible role at Climate Week, highlighting public, private, and philanthropic sector imperatives to change. To learn more about the intersection of health and climate, check out our blog post.
• Emphasis on support for Indigenous communities: Biodiversity and nature took an active stage at this year’s climate week, with forums like the World Biodiversity Summit where the need for nature-based and nature-positive investments were featured. Conversations emphasized needs beyond solely financing ecosystem services and planet, but support for Indigenous communities worldwide who lack access to critical climate finance impacting their local communities. In fact, 2024 was declared the International Year of Camelids by the United Nations – to highlight their critical role in livelihoods for Indigenous and local communities and in building resilience to climate change – particularly in mountains and arid and semi-arid lands.
• Global e-mobility solutions move beyond Tesla: While large automobile manufacturers are taking the lead in electric vehicle infrastructure, a large part of the world continues to use mopeds, scooters, motorbikes, and motorcycles for transportation and as source of livelihood especially in China, South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of Africa. We saw organizations leading the charge in market research and early-stage innovation in two-wheel e-mobility. One startup is providing an exciting example by operating a renewable energy-powered commercial e-motorcycle fleet and battery swapping network in Africa.
• Climate positive policies are yielding fruit, despite an uncertain road ahead: The United Nations review of global progress on the Sustainable Development Goals can be described as sobering at best. In the face of growing alarm, the United States Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants enabled by the Inflation Reduction Act provide some hope. Having fulfilled federal requirements, and with funds now accessible, these grants are benefiting frontline communities most affected by the dramatic effects of climate change. While Climate Week held space to celebrate this progress, there was also discourse on scenario planning to foresee how the upcoming United States election may affect these policies and programs.

Connecting with others working on climate solutions and hearing about recent developments always leaves us energized to continue our commitment to climate action. For more on climate solutions and ways to get involved, check out our climate resources.