It’s Time: Driving Bold Climate Action and Inspiring Change at UNGA and Climate Week NYC 2024

September 20, 2024

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“As Climate Week and the UN General Assembly approach, I’m energized by the potential for transformative collaboration. These gatherings offer a crucial platform to accelerate climate action and sustainable development.”

Samantha Fennell, Partner and Managing Director, North America.

As the global climate crisis accelerates, New York Climate Week 2024 is set to spotlight the urgent need for tangible progress. The theme this year, “It’s Time,” emphasizes the imperative to not only continue discussions but to implement concrete solutions that can drive long-term sustainability. For Purpose, this event is a pivotal moment to showcase our work and collaborate on the vital intersection of climate action, social equity, and innovation.

Join us to unpack some key themes our team is excited to connect around during this exciting time:

1. Innovating Climate Messaging: A Bold New Approach

“With Verified for Climate we are always striving for fresh approaches, through our unique collaboration with The UN, who share our urgency in building cultural momentum to combat harmful narratives and accelerate climate solutions. Launching a climate campaign that doesn’t explicitly mention ‘climate’ or ‘energy transition’ may seem counterintuitive, but that’s exactly what we did with ‘The Future Thanks You.’ Rooted in behavioral science and using the idea of hope as a lever, we are excited to see the campaign thriving, particularly as we share stories from seven changemakers across all continents—including artists, Indigenous leaders, and scientists.

This is all supported by a network of collaborators including Fortescue, Tiktok, and Rockefeller Foundation. as well as Verified Champions, a global network of trusted messengers. We aim to capture people’s real aspirations for their futures at scale, and we cannot wait to amplify this campaign during Climate Week NYC & Summit of the Future.

Isobel Bruce, Global Head of Campaigns; Lisa Chau, Associate Director of Project & Program Management and Jessica Riches, Campaigner

Isobel and Lisa from Team Verified reflect on the innovative nature of their latest climate campaign in collaboration with the United Nations, which takes a bold step by shifting away from traditional climate messaging. ‘The Future Thanks You’ focuses on storytelling and visual impact, allowing audiences to connect with the climate crisis through a fresh lens. With collaborations across all seven continents and a series of multimedia content, this campaign represents a daring, creative approach to climate communication.

Highway and wind turbines in Tamil Nadu,  India

2. Women-Led Climate Action: Amplifying Diverse Voices for Real Change

“The Women Climate Collective is excited and looking forward to attending the Climate Week NYC and representing the voices of thousands of women working on climate action from India on a global platform. We look forward to forging deeper partnerships, and expanding our footprint and WCC’s vision!”

Deepti Ojha, Senior Campaigner, Climate & Gender

Women’s representation and leadership are crucial in the fight against climate change. From grassroots efforts to boardroom decisions, women are ready to lead innovative solutions to environmental challenges. Yet, significant barriers remain in their path. We are bringing our work from the Women Climate Collective (WCC) to pivotal discussions during Climate Week NYC, where the focus will be on breaking down barriers and amplifying the voices of women leading climate action worldwide.

At Purpose, we recognize that addressing the climate crisis requires not only environmental solutions but also social inclusion. The Climate Innovators Showcase and the Global Women’s Climate Leadership Forum will highlight women innovators who are spearheading solutions in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and urban planning.

Black Carbon cartoon with demonic eyes

3. Tackling Super-Pollutants: Using humor to drive awareness of a Global Health and Climate Crisis

“At Climate Week NYC, we’re raising awareness and shifting the narrative around super-pollutants, by highlighting the tangible, but often overlooked impact of them on our health, lifestyles, and the climate. Crucially we have taken a traditionally technical and complicated issue space and used creativity to explain it in a way that is memorable, easier to understand, and entertaining.”

Charlotte Wood, Global Head of Strategy; Gabrielle Choo, Global Head of Creative & Alexandra Callaway, Senior Project Manager

Super-pollutants  are responsible for 45% of global warming to date, yet are often overlooked in climate discussions. Purpose, in collaboration with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), is committed to raising awareness about the devastating impact of super-pollutants and the impactful solutions that we as a global community can put into place. These pollutants not only accelerate global warming and climate change but also pose a significant threat when it comes to food systems and public health, disproportionately affecting communities in high-pollution areas.

At Climate Week NYC, CCAC and Purpose are launching a suite of innovative communications to bring these super-pollutants to life in an animated universe. Highlighting the very real (and incredible) solutions our partners have created to tackle the issues, now. We’ve been working with top-tier illustrators and animators duo Kitchen to make our message impossible to ignore. These irritating characters will feature in a 90-second film, a suite of illustrated posters that will be wild posted around New York, social media content, audio advertisements, and a set of merchandise featuring our characters – that delegates can take home to remember the creative communications and the need to tackle super-pollutants. 

By linking super-pollutants to health and lifestyle impacts, and bringing the issue to life in a bold and entertaining way, we aim to inspire a global push for stronger super-pollutant regulations and greater government cooperation to tackle this issue.

A tractor working a field.

4. Food and Climate-Resilient Agriculture: The Heart of Climate Solutions

“I am excited about understanding the linkages and solutions to nutrition, livelihoods, and climate-resilient agriculture surfaced by  Global Majority countries during Climate Week NYC. I believe Purpose’s unique models of narrative shift and public mobilization can reach grassroots audiences across the geographies we work in, to create the groundswell of support needed for more supportive and sustainable agriculture policy. ”

Sonali Bhasin, Associate Strategy Director

Agriculture is not just about food production—it’s deeply tied to global sustainability and climate resilience, especially in regions most impacted by climate change. As the Global Majority countries face the brunt of extreme weather, the urgency to rethink agricultural practices grows. Sonali and Harpreet highlight the importance of shaping grassroots agri community support for climate-resilient agricultural goals.

Purpose sees this as a unique opportunity to integrate behavioral and narrative shifts to inspire real change. Grassroots movements in agriculture can drive transformation, ensuring that policies reflect the needs of those on the frontlines of climate change. Purpose’s team is excited to explore the innovations in agriculture that can link local actions to global solutions.

5. Climate Adaptation for Vulnerable Communities: Addressing the Social Dimension

“This year more than ever, Global Majority countries have felt the brunt of extreme weather. As the need for adaptation funding and action becomes more prominent ahead of COP30, I’m excited to talk about the work Purpose is doing around adaptation and vulnerable communities”

Harpreet Bagga, Managing Director and Partner

At Purpose, we believe that adaptation requires more than just conversation—it demands action. UNGA and Climate Week NYC, offer us the chance to meet, engage, and discuss the most pressing issues of our times with key players in the climate space. Meaningful conversations around vital issues like climate adaptation and social justice are the first step to driving full-scale societal impact that protects the most vulnerable.

The climate crisis is not just an environmental issue; it is a profound social challenge. Communities that are most vulnerable to extreme weather events are often those least equipped to adapt, highlighting the deepening inequality that climate change brings. For instance, the massive displacement caused by the unprecedented Brazil floods or female workers in India’s brick kilns suffering from extreme heat, drawing attention to how the intersection of climate and social justice plays out in real-world contexts.

Purpose believes that adaptation must be more than a conversation—it requires action. We must create partnerships to drive funding toward solutions that protect the most vulnerable, ensuring that adaptation strategies are both equitable and effective.

6. Shifting the Narrative: Inspiring faster and more ambitious Climate Action 

Gatherings provide a platform to share success stories, from communities powered entirely by renewables to breakthrough technologies in energy storage. By amplifying these narratives, we can paint a more hopeful and achievable vision of a sustainable future, motivating more ambitious climate commitments and actions across all sectors of society.” 

Samantha Fennell, Partner and Managing Director, North America

Samantha’s insight highlights a key difference in how Purpose approaches climate action messaging. Instead of focusing solely on the daunting challenges of the climate crisis, we highlight solutions that are already driving real change. Climate Week NYC and the UNGA provide critical platforms to showcase the innovations and success stories that often go unreported—stories about renewable-powered communities and groundbreaking advancements in energy storage.

By identifying key influential communities that are not engaging in climate discourse and shifting the focus from seemingly unsurmountable challenges to solutions that cater to lived experiences, we can inspire positive public engagement and greater political will. We all need this to motivate more ambitious climate commitments and actions across all sectors of society.

Harpreet Bagga, Partner and Managing Director, APAC

By amplifying these narratives, Purpose is working to inspire broader public engagement and build political momentum. A vision that transforms climate action into a movement of hope and achievement can mobilize more ambitious climate policies and commitments. Sharing these success stories doesn’t just paint a brighter future, it motivates action across all sectors of society.

Find out more about our latest work and updates on our presence at UNGA and Climate Week NYC by visiting our news page here. 


Charlie Roper
Choose Both: A Digital Guide
for Equity & Evidence