It’s been a whirlwind!
Earlier this year, we made a general plan for our events and convenings for 2024 and decided that we would only host one event during Climate Week, as the team was still new, and we were still in the process of hiring a new staff member.
Little did we know that thanks to our very inspiring and supportive partners like Dasra, Germanwatch, and SEE Foundation and Association, we would eventually be hosting four events and attending countless other sessions, meeting many of our partners and friends and walking at least 10 km a day. Well, the walking part was kind of a given, as anyone who has ever been to New York Climate Week can confirm.
After a bit of a rocky start with a sprint at Zürich airport (for Katrin) and a missed connection and rerouting to Newark (for Celine), we made it to New York and dove right into a week of excitement, learning, networking, and strategizing.
So, what did we do?
We attended seventeen events, had eight bilateral meetings and co-hosted the aforementioned four sessions:
- a roundtable that was the first ever in-person meeting of the F20/Germanwatch Sustainable Finance Roundtable, held at the board room of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation
- a roundtable in partnership with Dasra where philanthropic partners from the current G20 TROIKA countries (India, Brazil, South Africa), the 2022 presidency country of Indonesia and beyond discussed lessons learned and strategies for G20 advocacy
- a reception co-hosted by Dasra where we facilitated deep conversations around food security and climate adaptation
- a joint gala dinner with the SEE Association and the World Economic Forum’s GAEA to showcase the role of business in a green transition that values climate and nature.
While it is always great to discuss, meet and bond with people in such in-person settings, there are certainly some key takeaways and ideas that have formed during this week.
Firstly, it is vital that the handover between the Brazilian and the South African G20 presidency is done well and smoothly, especially around the aligned topics such as the global governance reform, ensuring that the multilateral processes are more equitable and using G20 as a forum for more balanced decision making between the Global North and the Global South. The adoption of the UN Pact for the Future after some dramatic days of “will they/won’t they” has certainly been a good signal in that regard.
Secondly, with South Africa’s new theme for the 2025 G20 presidency (“Solidarity, Equality and Sustainable Development”), the direction is clear: more Global South agenda setting and priority alignment, ensuring intersectionality and laying the basis for implementation of what has been already committed, adopted, and promised in the past.
Thirdly, when talking about intersectionality and equality, let’s not forget that it is often women who are at the forefront of driving positive change, but who are also often the ones who feel the effects of climate change most directly, immediately and harshly. As a global community, we must understand that often climate change and a just energy transition are no longer technical but political conversations, informed by power dynamics and funding. Only then will we be able to create a world that leaves no one behind.
To make informed decisions about how to tackle the many crises the world is facing right now, we must plan with vigorous hope in our ability as humankind to tap into our richness of knowledge and ability to share information, while also applying brutal honesty to the fact that the world has seen better times and realize that, as Former Mexican President and Member of the Elders Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León said, “we are no longer living in a rule based system, but in a power based system”.
Last but not least, we also heard from Ana Toni, Brazil’s National Secretary for Climate Change, that climate action for adaptation is a moral obligation, and it is essential that the international finance system is adapted in and of itself to be able to act on this important obligation. One way of doing so is through country platforms which are a keystone to the Brazilian G20 presidency, and which can shape the usefulness and quality of adaptation finance, that builds on local knowledge and works for the communities on the ground.
The richness and depth of our two roundtable discussions warrant a whole article on their own (and they will come, in time, bear with us!), but let us give you a taste of the flavor of our discussions.
When it comes to access to climate finance, a lot of the experts agreed that we are still lacking speed, scale and distribution of funds for renewable energy projects. There are already communities who can implement the just transition with the required infrastructure, but more often than not local communities aren’t included in decision making processes. The gap between private and public capital is still huge, with preposterous collateral costs for private financing and old school instruments that no longer work in today’s world (it begs the question if they have ever worked?). We are looking at a financing cosmos that prioritizes short-termism over sustainable support, quantity over quality financing, and perceived over real risks. There are many ways in which philanthropy can step in here, and we are excited to explore this together with our F20 Sustainable Finance Working Group over the next 15 months.
One of the key takeaways from the previous TROIKA (Indonesia, India, and Brazil) for the upcoming South African presidency is the importance of starting early — well before the official handover in December. We put this into practice at the Dasra Philanthropy Forum, where we kicked off collaboration with our new South African F20 Co-Chair, to be officially announced soon. Many participants agreed: while UNFCCC processes are more structured, navigating the G20 space requires early exploration to shape narratives and strategies. Also, other engagement groups such as the C20, W20, T20, B20, and Y20 are reformed annually by each host country, which means maintaining continuity and strategic alignment can be challenging.
To address this, F20 has intentionally chosen to remain independent, allowing us to ensure stability and continuity. Identifying the right timing and avenues for engagement is crucial, particularly given that the G20 is not primarily focused on climate. However, philanthropy must remain ambitious, striving to push climate action and sustainable finance higher on the G20’s agenda. To do so, we must balance realistic expectations with strategic ambition to create impactful outcomes, while aligning with Finance and Sherpa Tracks, emphasizing quality over quantity, and maintaining direct communication with key stakeholders.
Throughout the week, we also focused on strengthening and expanding our partnerships to drive greater impact across the G20 and global climate agenda. We’re deepening our partnership with the SEE Foundation and Association, aligning with the Trottier Family Foundation in Canada on G7/G20 strategies, and expanding our G20 collaboration with WINGS. We also had meaningful discussions with the European Climate Foundation, Ford Foundation, SFOC in Korea, ClimateWorks, Growald Family Fund, Rede Comuá, the Welthungerhilfe, and the Ban Ki-moon Foundation, focusing on strengthening collective efforts for a just and sustainable future.
As we look to the upcoming G20 processes, we will carry forward the key learnings and connections made in New York, striving to ensure that philanthropy continues to play a catalytic role in driving “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainable Development”. The road ahead may be complex, but the momentum, dedication, and collective ambition we have witnessed during New York Climate Week remind us that meaningful change is not only possible — it is already underway.
