Hina West

This September, we’re scaling our team’s energy on the UN Climate Week in Addis Ababa (as opposed to Climate Week NYC). Why is that, and what are the potential benefits to spotlight the event in Ethiopia? Read on to find out more!

Climate Weeks are a common format of smaller and larger-scale events focused on discussing issues and solutions within the climate policy and action sphere. Amongst them, in 2025 the UN reintroduced its official Climate Weeks happening twice a year, with the first one held in May in Panama City. The UN Climate Weeks are meant to inform dialogues and accelerate action and decisions, building momentum towards the COP (UNFCCC Conference of Parties). The second UN Climate week of 2025 will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on September 1-6, followed by the Africa Climate Summit (8-10 September).

Separately from the official UN format, Climate Week NYC, organised every autumn, has become a staple global climate event, and is the biggest of its kind, but with mixed reviews on its level of positive climate action. This year, it’s taking place between 21 and 28 September.

Even though we are considering still having some presence in New York, our ability to catalyse research into climate policy and action will prioritise empowering Africa and our storytelling efforts will be focused on what’s unfolding in Ethiopia.

It’s the South’s time to speak!

We are excited to join the conversation and hear voices previously underrepresented on the international negotiation arena. For too long, key climate conversations have been shaped by priorities from the Global North. It is evident that the impacts of the crisis are being felt most acutely across the South where counties are rapidly moving to shaping new adaptation and mitigation solutions tailored to their needs.

Africa Climate Week offers a space where policymakers, innovators, community organisers, financiers, and youth from across the continent can lead the dialogue on their own terms. We want to be part of listening, amplifying and learning from that leadership without being distracted by political apathy towards climate action and potential border control issues that are both causing significant worry for the climate change community’s access to the Big Apple.

Ethiopia: a front-runner with stories to tell

Ethiopia itself is one of Africa’s fastest-moving nations when it comes to climate ambition and delivery. The country’s investments such as renewable energy scale-ups and climate-smart agriculture make it an exemplary setting for conversations that move beyond rhetoric and into reality. Clearly illustrating the possibilities of driving regenerative economic growth for communities, countries and continents and the clear link between commerce and equitable climate action.

Crucially, many of the discussions in Addis will focus on themes where Africa isn’t just catching up, but stepping out in front: just energy transitions, resilient food systems, and nature-based economies, just to name a few.

Laying the groundwork ahead of COP30

Our team will be actively involved in ongoing JTWP (Just Transitions Work Programme) negotiations, contributing to dialogues that are breaking new ground ahead of COP30. The UN Climate Week’s focus on actionability and real-world tangible case studies will hopefully result in fruitful discussions feeding into the COP30 Action Agenda (including the recently announced Thematic Days topics such as adaptation, justice, energy, planetary and community stewardship and more) and final decisions.

We will also be all ears during the Implementation Forum and Implementation Labs which will touch on themes including energy transition and access, equality and inclusion and finding replicable and scalable solutions to action and kick off all the ambitious goals. As mentioned in our latest submission to the UNFCCC, learning from best practices, collaboration and multi-level capacity building are necessary for changes to be made and just transitions to come into place, and we are hoping to see that reflected during the Ethiopia Climate Week sessions.

Connecting more deeply, communicating more honestly

With events happening on a more centralised campus in Addis Ababa, we’ll have the chance to connect with negotiators, entrepreneurs, youth activists, and policymakers at street-level to gather real voices and unfiltered insights that too often get lost around numerous locations across New York city.

Our on-the-ground comms representative will be telling these stories as they happen: shining a light on the ambition, challenges and breakthroughs being driven from the continent, for the continent — with global implications.

In short…

Yes, Climate Week NYC remains a powerful and important moment in the global climate calendar. But in 2025, the more exciting story may be happening a continent away.

By showing up in Addis Ababa to listen, engage, and invest, we are betting on the power of a more representative, and ultimately more effective climate movement.

Are you planning on attending the Climate Week in Addis Ababa or Climate Week NYC? Would you like to connect with us or continue the discussion? Email our Comms and Members Manager, Adela Hankus, for more information and follow us on social media to engage directly!

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Cover photo: Sintayehu Arega via Unsplash

Hina West is the Managing Director of Climate Strategies.
Her two-decade career spans the NGO, public and private sectors across multiple countries, by connecting stakeholders, to drive forward truly sustainable impact and forge transformational partnerships that create global systems change for the benefit of both people and nature.