AccuWeather's Ali Reid reported live from Climate Week NYC on Sept. 23, speaking with organizers about all that can be expected at the massive event.
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00:00And Climate Week kicked off yesterday in New York City, bringing together global leaders,
00:05businesses, and environmental activists.
00:08Our own Ali Reid is on the ground in the city as the events get underway.
00:12Ali, you've had a busy last 24 hours, and what can you tell us about what's going on
00:16today?
00:17Well, guys, when you talk about New York City, you know that constantly things are happening
00:24here, and certainly that's the case as we are live from the Glass House in New York
00:28City.
00:29We are live.
00:30Adam Lake, you are the head of engagement for Climate Week under Climate Group.
00:35How are you doing?
00:36Are you holding down the fort right now?
00:37I know you've had a busy couple of days.
00:39I'm good.
00:40It's day two.
00:41We have 900 events happening this week.
00:43Now, just to put that in perspective, last year we were tracking 600.
00:47We've grown 50 percent, and this is just day two.
00:49Well, when we were talking to you last summer, I said, Adam, what's the most important things
00:52that we should be focusing in on?
00:54And you told me, Ali, we need to talk about not just what's happening here, but all across
00:58the city.
00:59900 events, by the way.
01:01You shouldn't take that lightly.
01:02That's huge.
01:03So give me a little bit more of a perspective of what that will actually look like throughout
01:06the week.
01:07Absolutely.
01:08I think what's really important to us is that we engage at lots of different levels.
01:11So literally just behind this door here, you've got the attorney general for California talking
01:15about launching right now a major lawsuit against Exxon.
01:18So we're doing the high-level stuff.
01:20But across the five boroughs of New York City, we're working with schools, artists, grassroots
01:24campaigners and so many other people, and we're finding ways that are free and open
01:28for them to engage in the week.
01:30People want to learn about things.
01:31They want to meet other people, and they want to collaborate.
01:34And that's what's so important for us this week.
01:37And why is it so important to get that word out, that message out to not only people that
01:42are here in New York City this week, but across not only the United States, but the globe?
01:47That's the big thing, is bringing people in all over the world for something like this.
01:50I think climate change is a big challenge, and we're only going to win this if we bring
01:53everyone together.
01:54And I think that's what's so amazing.
01:55900 events, each one of those events are bringing hundreds of people together who want to do
02:00good.
02:01And I think that's what's so important, because if we don't have the whole of the city on
02:04board, then we're not going to win this fight.
02:06And I think 900 events, I'm feeling really positive that we're going to get stuff done.
02:10Our strapline this year is it's time, and it is certainly time this week.
02:13Well, and you mentioned just some things that are happening around, literally on the opposite
02:17side of this wall right now, you mentioned the attorney general in California is mentioning
02:21something really, really important.
02:22The lawsuit against Exxon, absolutely.
02:24Yeah, and that's happening as we speak.
02:26So there is, I mean, there's constant movement at something like this, right?
02:29There's constant movement.
02:30We're going to see announcements from governments.
02:32We're going to see announcements from businesses, but we're also going to see local campaign
02:36groups who are winning the fight.
02:37You know, there's some fantastic things happening in New York City.
02:40There's going to be a hydro-powered pipeline of energy coming through to reduce energy
02:44emissions in Queens by 20%.
02:47That switch gets turned on next year.
02:48These are things that have a real impact on air quality, on asthma rates, on everyone's
02:53lives.
02:54And I think that's what we're trying to bring out of this week, is how can we tell these
02:56stories and make people understand this is a fight we can win.
03:01It's also all about timing too.
03:02The UN also happening this week as well.
03:05So you guys, I know, planned that out accordingly to make sure that the right representatives,
03:10the right people are also going to be here in the city at that time.
03:12Is that right?
03:13Absolutely.
03:14So this is the 16th year that we're hosting Climate Week NYC, and we purposely did it
03:18during the UN General Assembly because we thought if all the leaders are here in New
03:21York, they don't need to travel to Climate Week because they're already here.
03:24They're already here.
03:25They're already here.
03:26And 16 years later, this has just grown into something so massive.
03:28We work very closely with the UN, they're fantastic partners of ours, and they do the
03:33big head of state and we do everybody else.
03:35So as you guys can hear from Adam, certainly a busy couple of days ahead, not only just
03:40yesterday, today, but moving throughout the week.
03:42I also mentioned earlier our founder of AccuWeather, Dr. Joel Myers, is also at an event today
03:48as well.
03:49We're going to be heading there, guys.
03:51We have a lot on our plate today.
03:53Certainly one of them is going to be speaking to him later on this afternoon.
03:57Allie Reed is going to do a lot of work this week, Climate Week, and then getting ready
04:03for our hurricane, unfortunately, coming toward the Central Coast states as we head into Thursday.
04:09All right, Allie, we appreciate you being live for us in New York City.
04:13We want to leave you guys with a few more climate change facts.
04:17Did you know that 2023 was the hottest year recorded since 1850?
04:21If you didn't, now you know.