Twice a year, New York City becomes the epicenter of the fashion world as designers, models, and influencers converge for Fashion Week. This globally influential event, taking place this week, sets the stage for trends that will dominate the industry in the coming seasons. Later this month, another kind of runway will command the world’s attention — Climate Week NYC 2024.
This year’s Climate Week theme is, “It’s Time.” It’s time for the leading designers of climate policy, the most creative innovators, and the top financial houses to push for rapid implementation at the scale of the solutions to our unprecedented environmental challenges. Climate Week NYC, coinciding with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), will be the focal point for global leaders, entrepreneurs, corporations, NGOs and activist communities committed to driving climate action.
Just as Fashion Week dictates what we’ll be wearing, Climate Week will shape the future of our planet. Here’s a sneak peek at the five key “looks” we can expect to roll out on the Climate Week runway.
1. Sustainable Finance: The New Power Suit
In the world of climate action, sustainable finance is emerging as the “power suit” of the future. Expect to see discussions centered on how financial institutions, governments, and businesses can direct capital flows toward sustainable investments. Additionally, private-public sector collaborations combined with creative financing vehicles may offer an opportunity to advance implementations of new solutions to key environmental challenges at scale.
Sustainable finance will take center stage with new frameworks and regulations being unveiled.
2. Decarbonization: Minimalism with Maximum Impact
Minimalism is a timeless trend in fashion, and this year, it’s making waves in climate policy. Decarbonization will be the mantra of Climate Week, with a focus on achieving net-zero emissions.
Look for commitments from corporations and governments alike, with strategies ranging from renewable energy adoption to nature-based solutions to protect and reinvigorate biodiversity, improve water quality, and efficiently capture carbon through nature’s most powerful carbon sinks.
The message is clear: less carbon, more impact.
3. Resilience: The Weatherproof Wardrobe
Just as fashion adapts to the changing seasons, climate action must adapt to a warming world. Extreme weather events and the enduring impacts of climate change are increasingly affecting individuals, businesses, economies, and infrastructure on a broad scale.
As such, resilience and climate adaptation are set to be a major theme, with discussions on how to protect communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change. Key approaches, including reforestation, greening urban environments, and developing climate-resistant crops may enter the conversation. We’ll be on the lookout for new innovations in this space, but one thing is certain: expect resilience to be the “weatherproof wardrobe” essential for the future.
4. Social Equity: Inclusivity on the Runway
Fashion is increasingly embracing inclusivity, and Climate Week will reflect this trend through a focus on social equity. Climate change disproportionately affects marginalized communities, and this year’s agenda will spotlight the need for just and equitable solutions, including ensuring healthcare access, strengthening health systems to face emerging climate-related health issues, and creating new economic opportunities in underserved communities.
Whether it’s in policymaking, funding, or innovation, inclusivity will ensure that no one is left behind in the transition to a sustainable future.
5. Innovation: The High-Tech Fabric of the Future
Innovation has always been the fabric that drives fashion forward, and it’s no different in the climate action space. Expect to see groundbreaking technologies and solutions showcased, from clean energy advancements and discussions on the emerging hydrogen economy to zero-emissions vehicles, green cement, sustainable and scalable alternatives to plastics, and AI-driven environmental measurement tools to ensure climate action is effectively measured.
Like a high-tech fabric on the runway, innovation will weave through every conversation, setting the stage for the next generation of climate solutions.
As Climate Week NYC approaches, the world will be watching New York again — not for the latest fashion trends but for the visionary ideas and bold commitments shaping our planet’s future. Just as Fashion Week defines the trends that influence what we wear, Climate Week will define the trends that influence how we live.
This is a crucial moment for stakeholders interested and invested in climate action to listen and observe where the conversation is going. For companies working on new solutions to an array of climate challenges, it’s an important time to assess if you are supporting and building on the trends, or if you have a new approach that has not yet been considered. If the latter, this is the time to start mapping out a strategy to ensure these ideas get on next year’s agenda.
So, as we prepare for the unveiling of these “collections” of ideas and actions, let’s remember that what happens in New York this September will ripple across the globe, influencing the future of our climate for years to come.
