Each year, representatives from around the globe gather in New York City for a week of conversations, panels, workshops and other gatherings dedicated to tackling climate issues related to equity, policy, and clean energy – all with the goal of moving the world toward a cleaner future.

This year’s event, set to be held Sept. 22-29, could be the most important yet. With record high temperatures, increasingly severe storms and a tense political climate, the challenges are plentiful and change is imperative. Per their website, “Climate Week NYC 2024’s theme of It’s Time highlights the urgent need for progress, to triple renewable capacity and double energy efficiency.”

The Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) and its more than 400 members represent a substantial interest group at Climate Week NYC, making up roughly one-fifth of the Fortune500 — a target demographic of key influencers for the event. Further, when combined, CEBA’s member organizations combined consume enough energy to rank among the top 25 countries in terms of energy consumption. 

This collective consumption and buying power puts CEBA at the front lines of the energy transition. CEBA will show up through events at this years’ Climate Week, including at an executive forum focused on load growth – featuring CEBA CEO Rich Powell – as well as a networking reception on clean energy that will be open to the broader CEBA community and those looking to advance the clean energy transition.

The energy sector is undergoing transformative and radical changes, particularly given the global focus on transitioning to cleaner energy sources while also building the infrastructure necessary to meet steeply rising electricity demand. Our events at Climate Week will underscore the opportunities for economic growth and innovation that these transformations pose for CEBA and our members, especially when it comes to load growth in the United States. We and our members have an opportunity to work together and share solutions to address these needs as they are at an all-time high.

The influence and negotiating power CEBA members represent in spaces like Climate Week NYC is an incredible driver in helping shape policy priorities and finding solutions to build momentum as we head into the last months of 2024 and COP29. If the world is to make substantial progress toward decarbonization by 2030, it is of the utmost importance to capitalize on the significant role CEBA members play in urging collective action that can help the world secure an economically prosperous and sustainable future.

In less than 50 days, stakeholders will begin to gather in New York City from all corners of the globe to unveil sustainable solutions and negotiate climate policy. As companies, governments, nonprofits and interest groups from all sectors convene in New York, their openness to sharing lessons learned from the past year will be instrumental in ensuring an outcome that delivers meaningful impact. 

As we know at CEBA, procuring clean energy can be difficult, which makes it even more critical to cooperate on industry barriers and share solutions. Only by working together can we catalyze the transformation necessary for the private sector to prepare and implement clean energy solutions.

More about Climate Week NYC and The Climate Group

Established in 2009 by The Climate Group to attract global attention and serve as an accessible public forum, Climate Week facilitates nearly 600 officially affiliated side events and an estimated 1,200 unofficial gatherings to promote activism, innovation, and negotiations.

Climate Week NYC attracts influential leaders from around the globe, including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The importance of Climate Week NYC — and its intentional alignment with the United Nations General Assembly — can not be understated.

Climate Week NYC will offer a glimpse into the ongoing actions, discussions, and networking that recently led actors from across the world to shift their climate commitments away from pledges and increasingly toward developing concrete solutions for a net-zero world.