Climate Week

The UN General Assembly's general debate continued into its fifth day in New York, with world leaders and foreign ministers taking the rostrum to lay out their governments' positions on conflicts, climate and development. UN News is summarising the day's key speeches and moments for audiences following the annual high-level week.

US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will not take part in a major climate change case when it is heard next week. The case is one of the most significant climate-related disputes to reach the Court, and his absence leaves eight justices to decide it, raising the possibility of a 4-4 split that would leave lower court rulings in place. No reason for his non-participation has been given in the announcement.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature used the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week to advance its agenda on nature protection, ocean conservation and climate action. The organisation says the gatherings offered a key moment to push for stronger commitments linking biodiversity and climate policy ahead of upcoming global negotiations.

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs took the floor at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, delivering the country's statement as part of the annual general debate. The address comes as world leaders use the high-level week to lay out their governments' positions on conflicts, climate and multilateral cooperation.

US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself from a major climate-change case scheduled to be heard next week, according to the Washington Times. The recusal means the remaining eight justices will decide a dispute with significant implications for climate regulation. No reason for the step-aside was given in the report, and it is not yet clear how his absence might affect the outcome or the court's ruling.

Climate Week NYC is underway, bringing together governments, companies and campaigners in New York to discuss emissions cuts and climate finance ahead of the UN General Assembly. The Wall Street Journal's climate newsletter also examines a possible silver lining to the recent surge in borrowing costs, suggesting higher rates could push firms toward more efficient, lower-carbon investment decisions.

Climate Week NYC has wrapped up, with coverage pointing to two major themes: the build-out of smart electricity grids and growing attention to ocean resilience. Businesses, governments and campaigners used the annual New York gathering to announce commitments and debate how to finance cleaner energy systems and protect marine ecosystems.

President Trump is set to announce a $15 billion steel project in Iowa, according to the Washington Examiner. The announcement comes as the Republican Party faces a difficult midterm election climate, and the timing is being read as an effort to showcase economic investment and manufacturing jobs in a key farming and industrial state ahead of the vote.

Yale School of the Environment published five key takeaways from its experts following Climate Week in New York City. The roundup distills what environmental scholars saw as the most significant themes and outcomes from the annual gathering, which brings together governments, businesses and advocates on climate action.

Student protesters interrupted an NVIDIA panel on artificial intelligence and climate held during NYC Climate Week. Footage shared by Al Jazeera shows activists taking over the session, adding to ongoing criticism of the tech industry's energy-hungry AI expansion and its climate commitments. The disruption has drawn attention during a week when companies are showcasing their environmental pledges.

The European Union is taking part in the FAO's Committee on Forestry and the 10th World Forest Week, meetings held at the UN food and agriculture agency in Rome. The EU delegation is presenting its positions on global forest protection, sustainable forest management and forest-related climate policy. The gathering brings together governments and experts to coordinate international action on forests.

During New York Climate Week, commentators highlighted lessons Indonesia could draw from the rapid solar energy growth seen across ASEAN nations and Pakistan. The discussion focused on regional insights into how neighbouring and comparable markets expanded solar adoption, and what policies or conditions Indonesia might replicate to accelerate its own clean energy transition.

Axios published a weekly rundown of energy and climate deals announced during the week of September 21. The roundup collects funding rounds, acquisitions, and investment activity across the clean energy and climate technology sectors into a single briefing. Such weekly digests are used by investors, founders, and policy watchers to track where climate capital is flowing.

Colorado Politics columnist Hal Bidlack runs through a packed week in American politics, touching on artificial intelligence, public outrage, border walls and killings. The roundup ties together the stories that dominated headlines and conversation over recent days, offering commentary on each. Readers are weighing in on how these separate developments reflect the state of the country's political climate.

Riverside Church in New York, Columbia University's Climate School and the Center for Earth Ethics opened Climate Week with an event featuring former Vice President Al Gore, focused on mobilizing public action on climate change. The gathering paired religious and academic institutions with political advocacy, emphasizing grassroots mobilization alongside policy work during the annual climate summit period.

After nearly 400 millimetres of rain flooded Lincoln, Ontario, in under two weeks in August, attention is turning to what it would cost to protect the province's communities from extreme weather. Estimates run into the billions of dollars, and analysts caution that attracting private investors to fund climate-resilience projects may prove difficult, leaving questions about who ultimately pays.

Global Fashion Agenda has published a reflection on Climate Week NYC 2026, focusing on how the fashion industry can accelerate its sustainability transformation. The piece reviews discussions held during the annual climate summit in New York, where brands, policymakers and advocates gathered to push progress on reducing the sector's environmental footprint and scaling climate action across supply chains.

During Climate Week, a social media user offered a mock-serious contribution to the climate debate, claiming never having owned a car as their personal environmental achievement. The deliberately sarcastic tone, including telling people not to ask questions, reflects a broader wave of ironic and low-effort climate commitments circulating online alongside the formal conference discussions.

Speakers at a Climate Week panel argued that while the ESG label has become a political flashpoint and fallen out of favor, the underlying environmental, social and governance risks have not disappeared. Panelists advised investors to look past the label and focus on those risks and on what matters to their clients, rather than abandoning the analysis itself.

World leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly's high-level week, with speeches and side events amounting to what analysts describe as a vigorous defence of multilateralism. Delegates repeatedly argued that global challenges, from climate change to conflict, require collective action through the United Nations at a time of rising geopolitical division and scepticism toward international cooperation.

The European Union auctioned 2.792 million spot carbon permits under its emissions trading system at a clearing price of 84.87 euros per tonne. The sale is a routine weekly supply of allowances that power plants and industrial firms must hold to cover their CO2 emissions, and the price level is being watched as an indicator of carbon market conditions in Europe.

New York Climate Week 2026 is set to feature a broader agenda with a stronger emphasis on putting climate commitments into practice. According to BBVA, the event will move beyond pledges and targets, focusing on concrete implementation of climate action by governments, companies and financial institutions. The expanded programme reflects growing pressure to show measurable progress on decarbonisation goals.