Climate Week NYC launches its official countdown this week, with event registration now open and the announcement of a new health program. Adam Lake explores what this means for the September event, and the increasing role of health as part of the climate conversation.
It started in late 2022 with an email from Wellcome, a UK-based philanthropic organization best known for their funding of health-related research programs. But this conversation was about culture and building bridges with new and perhaps unlikely partners.
Climate Week NYC brings together over 600 events annually and, as part of our vision to bring together a range of voices across NYC, the event has grown, perhaps organically, a reputation for bringing together one of the largest programs of cultural programing connected to climate change which leverages the city’s immense cultural capital and global ties.
In my previous position as Head of Climate Week NYC, Wellcome asked me to participate in a paper they were producing looking at the role of culture in the climate space, and I was happy to share our role in reaching out to cultural leaders in New York and around the world. And that, I thought, was that.
Cut to early 2023 and Wellcome were back in touch hoping to further explore the intersection between climate, culture, and health as a path to creatively unlock new conversations and action.
I didn’t immediately know where to begin, but after some exciting and creative discussions it became apparent there was already a significant amount happening at Climate Week NYC in this space, and a huge opportunity to grow it if we created the right platform to nurture it.
With their support, we did some work analyzing the hundreds of events, organizations we partner with, and activations that take place throughout the week, and created a map of how vibrant and active this area of work already was at Climate Week NYC. We also held a roundtable at Climate Week NYC last year, bringing together senior representatives from climate, health, culture, communications, philanthropy, and community engagement, to explore what sort of activities might best create impact.
Over the course of the following months, we engaged with a number of partners and one thing was clear, climate related health impacts were a critical part of the wider conversation and climate agenda. And in some cases, it was in fact the main part of the conversation driving action.
Through communication and culture, the stories we tell have a central role in our ability to fight the climate crisis. And it’s not just about discussing health outcomes, the healthcare sector alone accounts for higher emissions than air travel. And through looking at the existing areas of focus where we work, such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, and subnational government leadership, it was again clear that we were already doing a lot of work in this space.
In parallel to this, we were thinking about how best to raise our ambition at Climate Week NYC, and we had the idea that we could create a new Climate and Health theme as part of the official program which structures the hundreds of events taking place throughout the week.
We have tried something similar before. When Climate Week NYC created an Environmental Justice theme a few years back the result was we were able to create a platform that inspired greater numbers of people to create and participate in the week. This coincided with the pandemic which, while being awful in so many ways, forced us to move our program online. This ultimately encouraged more organizers and volunteers to host and attend events by lowering the barrier to entry. It produced what was, at the time, a record-breaking number of events and is the reason why we have allowed virtual events to be included in the official program ever since.
There’s another aspect to this as well. People are much more likely to speak when they feel they are going to be heard. Feedback in previous years from event hosts is that up to 80% of registration for events come from their Climate Week NYC program listing. So our policy of charging a modest fee to corporate hosts enables us to request an optional donation for smaller non-profits and community groups. This ensures that everyone has equal access to the huge audience we are fortunate enough to bring in.
We have three objectives in creating this new health theme as part of the official program.
Climate Group is also collaborating with Wellcome to support the kickoff of Canopy, Wellcome’s new cultural program on climate and health, which is launching at this year’s Climate Week NYC. Climate Group is working closely with Wellcome’s cultural partnerships team and New York cultural lead Rebecca Jacobs in exploratory conversations with the American Museum of Natural History, UNFCCC, Governor’s Island, and the New York Climate Exchange.
As with all of our themes that are part of the official program, we have added a great level of flexibility and interpretation to what this theme can include. Our wider week program is curated by us, but it is owned, facilitated, and run by those who host their events. That means that events pursue objectives that differ and sometimes clash, and we think that is a good thing. Meeting and talking and constructively challenging each other is a central part of Climate Week NYC. Our only remit, as a nonprofit whose mission is to reach net zero by 2050, is ensure that each event included on our program is genuinely motivated by helping us reach that goal.
One of the nicest parts of being involved in Climate Week NYC is meeting people who attended the week at the start of their careers and are now in a position to create great change. We often hear how Climate Week NYC gave them the inspiration, network and knowledge to carry them on their path. It is with that in mind that we are excited to include this new theme, and hope that it provides a platform that will allows others to create even more impact and change in the future.