As Climate Week NYC 2025 approaches, our Managing Director, Hina, is getting ready to head to the East Coast. Drawing on lessons from her first visit, she’s sharing advice to help attendees get the most out of Climate Week, from navigating Manhattan and 1000+ events to preparing for the city’s unpredictable weather.

1. Timings: I knew there would be a lot of trekking around from one meeting to another, but do not underestimate this; add in buffer time for distances between venues and clearing security access. I have never seen so much security in my life as when I was attempting to access the UN HQ — it felt like a cross between boarding an international flight and visiting someone in a class A prison. Also, make sure you incorporate downtime to recharge each day; it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

2. Flat Shoes and Umbrellas: Make sure you have decent shoes and don’t be embarrassed to switch to trainers (or ‘sneakers’ for my US counterparts). Sometimes fashion has to be forgone, and I had a lot of respect for the fully committed trainer wearers. We also experienced many seasons in one week (wind, rain, fluctuating temperatures, and so on), so be sure to take an umbrella.

3. FOMO – ‘Fear of Missing Out’: With hundreds of events, you cannot be at everything. Be really focused on the arenas and communities you need to engage with during the week, adding the most value to your specific goals, and also where you can add the most value in return. I had to triage my schedule every evening and adapt based on new opportunities that developed throughout the week.

4. Grandstanding: It’s jarring when people are pitching at you, focused on getting their agenda across and quickly assessing if you are worth their precious time or not. Shifting to  more intentional networking and creating human connections is much more authentic in my humble opinion. I advocate for listening more and finding the commonalities that bind us.

5. Spin: Saying you are doing good work, even if you truly believe it, is not actually always verifiable. Spotting and sifting out the spinners is critical to truly solving the climate crisis. Focusing effort on the like-minded truth-tellers will bode better for the future and your well-being.

6. Buzzword Bingo: As the week marched on, I started to twitch as I repetitively heard jargon and buzzwords such as ‘collaboration’, ‘trust’, ‘partnerships’, and ‘impact’, to the point where I somewhat cynically started to give myself a point each time I heard one. Many of the audiences I was part of were already converted to these values, so a deeper conversation is perfectly appropriate. I’m not saying I disagree with any of these principles, but focusing on the ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ of each of these statements will shift us forward faster.

7. Healthy Habits: Although most of the events cater, one of the first things I did when I arrived was go to a 7-11 and stock up on healthy food (including my daily life source of bananas), ensuring I had a way to stave off the hunger when my body clock would wake me at 4am and attempt to protect my immune system from the inevitable germs of work travel and joining such a large international crowd. Finding the time to be active is important for maintaining stamina and mental health. I was able to squeeze in a sunrise run around Midtown and was convinced by a friend to join a HIIT boxing class at the end of the week, a great way to get the residual stress out before travelling home and shifting gears.

8. Loneliness: Although New York is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, I can see how lonely it could be living there. Surrounded by millions of people all the time, but with little interpersonal interaction. I was fortunate to have buddied up with a colleague to take on climate week, but I can see how attending alone could be quite lonely. So, if possible, I highly recommend buddying up with someone on a similar wavelength to you; you will be grateful for the camaraderie and company, even if you feel like you can’t handle one more conversation without exploding.

9. Reducing Mental Load: Preparation and planning are key to staying in control of this rollercoaster. I was pleased with how organised pre-climate week Hina was in terms of planning my schedule, including key events and bilateral meetings, printing out documents, etc. But I was equally pleased that I planned and tested transitional outfits (with accessories) to take me from breakfast meetings through daytime events and to networking receptions each evening, and took photos so I didn’t have to think about it when I rose at dawn and raced to the first breakfast meeting of each day. It may seem somewhat superficial, but it definitely helped reduce the mental load. Another key tip I suggest is noting down all follow-ups in real-time to make them easier to process, prioritise, and action.

10. Navigation: Although New York’s grid-like formation is helpful for getting around, it still takes practice to get to grips with it, along with the hordes of people and constant stopping and starting at traffic lights. For out-of-town visitors, make sure you have unlimited data roaming on your phone to assist with navigation, or pick up a SIM card on arrival. One of the biggest challenges I witnessed was people who had come from global majority countries without adequate technological access to help them get around – a major barrier to inclusivity that could be easily solved.

Safe travels to all those en route to New York, and keep an eye on our channels for updates from the week!

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