NYC Climate Week Largest to Date
Over 70,000 people marched in this year’s March to End Fossil Fuels, urging Biden to end U.S. dependency on fossil fuels. From the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition Facebook Page, September 17th, 2023. Photo by Valerie Jean.
September 17th kicked off the largest Climate Week NYC thus far, with an estimated 75,000 attendees and over 580 official events. The week-long event kicked off with the March to End Fossil Fuels, which urged President Biden to declare a climate emergency and take action to end dependency on fossil fuels, ahead of the UN Climate Ambition Summit. Representatives from MWEJN partner organizations like the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition and COPAL took to the streets of New York, along with thousands of others from around the world, to show their support. This was the largest climate gathering since the start of the pandemic.
Hosted by Climate Group, in partnership with the City of New York and the UN General Assembly, Climate Week is now in its fifteenth year of running since it first began in 2009. This year’s theme was “We Can. We Will.” Major highlights included California Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement that the state will be suing several major oil companies in a landmark case, People of the State of California v. Big Oil. The lawsuit seeks compensation for “more than 50 years of deception, cover-up and damage that have cost California taxpayers billions of dollars in health and environmental impacts,” according to a statement on the governor’s website published on September 16th. Other notable events included the first COP-hosted ‘Local Climate Action Summit,’ announced by COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber and UN Special Envoy Michael Bloomberg, and Maryland governor Wes Moore gave a speech during the event’s opening ceremony that highlighted the connection between economic and environmental justice.
For more highlights from MWEJN partner Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, check out their photo coverage on social media.