3 min. read
Last updated Oct 7, 2025
Key takeaways
Climate momentum remains strong. New York Climate Week (NYCW) 2025 showed clear commitments from the private sector, civil society, and international leaders.
Energy decarbonization is a priority. Competitiveness, innovation, energy independence, and job creation remain at the core of a successful energy transition.
Sustainability means change and risk management. Leaders must frame risk management at the forefront of climate messaging.
Partnerships drive durable outcomes. Collaborations among industries, governments, investors, and local communities continue to move forward on the climate transition despite US federal leadership stepping back.
Momentum despite headwinds
NYCW 2025 carried an energy unlike any before. Across the city, leaders from diverse sectors and industries gathered to share progress and chart next steps, and the Carbon Direct team joined dozens of these conversations.
Even as the US rolls back national commitments, the private sector, civil society, and the international community continue to move forward on the climate transition. NYCW 2025 demonstrated that momentum remains strong. Here are our top three takeaways from the week and what Carbon Direct believes is the most feasible path forward for the climate transition in the near future.
Top 3 takeaways from NYCW 2025
Energy decarbonization has unwavering support
As in previous years, conversations at NYCW 2025 included honest reflections on the challenges facing the energy sector today, including conflicting government priorities, lack of diverse funding for climate initiatives, and deployment obstacles for decarbonization technologies.
Yet, while these challenges were a meaningful part of nearly every conversation, they were rarely ever the sole focus. In fact, despite these challenges, leaders across industries reaffirmed their commitment to energy decarbonization. Data center hyperscalers, among others, remain committed to advancing renewable energy adoption, point-source capture, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), and scaling carbon dioxide removals (CDR) to address current and legacy emissions.
Advances in technology make it possible to decarbonize at scale while strengthening critical energy systems.
Dr. Julio Friedmann, Chief Scientist and Chief Carbon Wrangler at Carbon Direct, presents on the topic of data center decarbonization at the Global CCS Institute’s event on September 23, 2025.
Sustainability means change and risk management
Climate risk is business risk. It appears more important than ever for organizations and individuals to frame their sustainability and climate initiatives around risk management. A message that resonated across a panel of Chief Sustainability Officers was that “sustainability means change and risk management.”
CSOs carry the responsibility of systemic thinking, reflecting on the past and looking to the future. Climate change and environmental issues remain, as they always have, at the forefront of CSOs’ concerns for their companies. As organizations navigate unprecedented policy challenges and shifts in global trade, they must focus climate messaging on mitigating risks and building resilience against turbulence.
Clear messaging around risk positions climate action as essential to long-term business stability.
Partnerships across civil society will drive climate resilience
As carbon management continues to scale across industries and geographies, questions have been raised about the impacts on host communities. Community impacts are a central factor in carbon management. For carbon removal projects to succeed at scale, the communities where carbon management projects are located must be fully engaged and stand to benefit.
Carbon Direct and the McKnight Foundation recently published novel research on the intersection of CDR projects in the United States and environmental justice communities. The findings informed a roundtable discussion we co-hosted during NYCW to explore how investors, foundations, and philanthropies can better engage with impacted communities, leverage the nascent CDR space to benefit communities, and address climate change.
As carbon removal projects continue to scale, community involvement is critical for long-term success. Projects that prioritize community needs offer new investment opportunities and represent a strategic approach to community development. As we expand our focus on community resilience, we must also consider managing inequitable systemic risks, and building our civic infrastructure to ensure overall climate and community resilience.
By aligning corporate decarbonization goals with local priorities, organizations build trust and ensure the energy transition delivers durable outcomes for both people and the planet.
Nili Gilbert, Vice Chairwoman at Carbon Direct, discusses the importance of equity-centered investment in carbon removal at the roundtable with McKnight Foundation on September 25, 2025.
Turning momentum into action
It is important not to be dismayed by headlines; the time to put climate initiatives into action is now. While the US steps back on its climate commitments, countries around the world are increasing federal funding for climate transition technologies. Companies must act now to strengthen resilience against policy, financial, and environmental risks.
Carbon Direct’s advisory services can help companies develop strategic plans to mitigate these risks and make science-backed procurement decisions on climate initiatives. The urgency is clear, and the solutions are here.
Contact us today to take action.
