Climate Group CEO talks momentum in the face of obstacles

In today's special episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we sit down on the sidelines of Climate Week NYC for an interview with Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson.

Climate Group is the nonprofit that organizes Climate Week NYC in coordination with the UN General Assembly and the City of New York. Helen points to momentum at Climate Week in 2025, with more than 1,000 events taking place across the city compared to 900 the previous year.

"We're seeing companies continuing to move forward," Helen says. "A lot of these are global businesses ... so what's happening in the US is a part of that, but it's not the whole story."

Helen says that Climate Week discussions this year are focusing more on practical solutions and the "nitty-gritty" of implementation. And she highlights the need for collective action and collaboration to effectively address climate change.

"For the systemic shift we need in order to solve this, we need to start to see sectors coming together," Helen tells us.

Listen to our coverage from Climate Week NYC 2025:

Kicking off Climate Week NYC in a fragmented global landscape | S&P Global

Climate Week, meet Fashion Week

Water, water everywhere in Climate Week NYC conversations

We'll be back with podcast interviews from Climate Week NYC throughout the week — including our coverage from The Nest Climate Campus, where the All Things Sustainable podcast is an official media partner.

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1 and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.

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