By Viviane Faver
Global leaders gathered this morning for the Opening Ceremony of New York’s Climate Week, which will be held until Saturday. Directed by the international organization, the Climate Group, ‘Climate Week NYC’, is the largest international climate summit this year. Ten themes organize the program, including Youth, Mobilization, and Justice, Industry and the Built Environment, Sustainable Travel and Tourism, Clean Energy Transition, and more.
Last night, New York City officially marked the occasion with 13 iconic buildings lit up in green. The Empire State Building, One World Trade, Madison Square Garden, 30 Rock, among others that made the sky green while the famous Union Square metronome was turned into a climate countdown clock.
The ceremony, hosted by Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson this Monday morning, had Prince Charles among his main guests, who made a powerful speech, saying that climate change is now rapidly becoming a catastrophe. “At this advanced stage, I cannot see any other way than to ask for a plan similar to Marshall’s for nature, people, and the planet.” He added: “We must now put ourselves on a war footing, approaching our action from the perspective of a military-style campaign.”
After Prince Charles’ speech, Helen Clarkson said that his speech was incredibly moving: “it’s encouraging to hear him invoke the Marshall Plan, which refers to an extraordinary moment in history when the United States set an example in the most significant issue of the time. I hope those decision-makers in the US will hear that call and take note. “
Among the opening highlights panels were:
Walmart announces historic climate commitments
During a discussion with Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson, Walmart Inc. CEO Doug McMillon outlined essential plans for the world’s largest retailer to be 100% carbon neutral in its global operations by 2040 – without using carbon offsets. He also announced goals to protect, manage, or restore at least 50 million acres of land and one million square miles of ocean by 2030.
According to the CEO of the Climate Group, Helen Clarkson, considering that Walmart is one of the largest retail companies in the world, the scale of this commitment is of great importance and shows that, despite the pandemic, companies’ commitment to combating climate change can and will remain on the agenda.
“By driving this scale of climate ambition through its supply chain, Walmart is making a significant global contribution to the transition to clean energy and transportation. It won’t be easy, but given the progress we’ve seen Walmart make in renewable electricity through our RE100 program, we do not doubt that it can achieve this. “
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IMF chief speaks of optimism for green recovery
As part of a panel on the role of finance in green recovery, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, spoke about her optimism: “We have this unique opportunity to pour a great stimulus into the economy. And it’s just common sense to use the money to build tomorrow’s economy, not to go back to where we were yesterday. At the IMF, we provide an analytical basis for why a green recovery is robust and better for the world in which we will live. “
Other speakers Fiona Reynolds, CEO of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, and Dickon Pinner, Senior Partner and Global Leader of Sustainability Practices at McKinsey & Company, echoed this sense of optimism.
Climate justice crucial to building a better future
Climate justice was an important point of discussion with Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, Executive Director for North America at 350.org, and Mark Chambers, Director of Sustainability in the Office of the Mayor of New York.
Somini Sengupta, New York Times sustainability reporter, who moderated the panel on building a better future, asked about the parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis.
Tamara Toles O’Laughlin said: “To build a multiracial and multigenerational movement that speaks to the problem [of climate change], make us grow and bring science and justice so that we have a democracy that really responds to that, we cannot do this in silos. We cannot do this without blacks, without indigenous people, without people of color, without young people, and without the exchange of energy and health.“
