Climate Week was great. It’s always uplifting to meet others wrestling with similar issues. I emerged with new ideas and allies and perspectives we can apply in our work. It also crystallised my thoughts on the weaknesses of our collective efforts. I’ve put together my highlights, lowlights and overriding reflection, in the spirit of maximising the learning for us all.
We really need this learning. The scale of the change we seek is immense. The speed we must move is unprecedented. Many of the solutions we need exist today. But powerful forces seek to slow or derail this transition, many of the institutions we need to lead are weak, and the conditions for international co-operation are profoundly lacking.
The highlights of my time in NY were identifying new allies and tools to unlock investment in industrial decarbonisation, and seeing our team in action:
- Scaling first of a kind investment: Impact platform Builders Vision, the charity Creo Syndicate and global investment bank Goldman Sachs mobilised two hundred people, many from family foundations, to focus on how we scale private investment into breakthrough industrial technologies. This community invests US$15 billion annually, and has tremendous power to accelerate the clean energy transition if they choose to focus their time and investment in this sphere. A dozen workshops dived into how to manage risks and structure much needed new investments at scale. We contributed to the workshop on e-fuels which is a key focus for our work on aviation decarbonisation. It was encouraging to hear about the forward purchase commitments obtained by US companies, and to get insights including on how early investors can be incentivised by obtaining priority rights to further investment rounds with higher returns. Learn more about SAFs and the role of investors in this transition here.
- “Green Market Makers”: Market makers are financial players that participate in the market at all times, both buying and selling securities. They have a key role in connecting supply and demand, and when it comes to green finance, so-called ‘Green Market Makers’ could play an important role in quickly building new markets, by stepping into the value chain to buy and sell green commodities. This topic was explored at an excelled event by Bezos Earth Fund and partners. It drew heavily on the pioneering work of H2 Global in Germany and I think has a lot of potential to accelerate market formation in heavy industrial sectors and overcome the Catch 22 of limited demand and supply. It won’t work everywhere as it requires significant government investment, but it’s an exciting new model. You can read more about it here.
- Seeing our team in action and securing new support: The leaders of our steel and aviation programmes were both in New York. They’re brilliant people, who brought insights from our work and soaked up learning from others. As the leader of a young organisation, that brought me huge joy. We also had vital good news from our funders, in particular about support for our new programme in Indonesia. You know who you are. Thank you for placing your trust in us.
There were three things I enjoyed rather less:
- Buck passing by some leaders in the finance sector: Climate Week saw a determined effort by some in the finance sector to downplay their power and responsibility for shifting current patterns of investment, as Bloomberg documented.
- Generalisation: Climate solutions must be country, issue and context specific. Too many sessions offered global analysis and prescriptions that were of very limited use. One size does not fit all. That’s certainly our experience in steel decarbonisation in India where we manage the India Green Steel Network. Our research there on the limited availability of scrap (out soon) has helped to inform agreement on a decarbonisation pathway that will be very different to the US or Europe.
- Limited diversity: The voices and experiences of North America and Europe often dominate discussions. This is of course the product of deeper dynamics and power structures – and the location! We can begin to redress this by naming it, giving space and voice to leaders from the global South, and challenging recommendations based on the experience of those in the North.
The future we need – requires deeper collaboration
A key divide in New York and beyond is between those talking about what they have done and blaming others for their limitations, and those who are collaborating to secure the action and incentives they need from others.
We still need far more of this. Every one of our challenges is systemic. No organisation can achieve its goals alone. If you’re only thinking and talking about the actions you can take in markets that exist today then you’re not yet doing this properly, as the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability and Leadership argued in an excellent report launched in New York.
Companies need regulation and incentives to act. The conditions for first of a kind investment have been hugely improved by the Inflation Reduction Act. The Green Market Maker and / or procurement commitments by governments will give investors the confidence to scale. If these policies or tools are lacking, it’s all of our responsibility to identify them and advocate for them. We can only do this together.
This is the work we do at Climate Catalyst. It’s only by taking a systems view, and combining the insight and power of different actors, that we will mobilise the action we need.

About the Author
Stephen Hale
Chief Executive Officer.
Stephen has played leadership roles as a campaigner and advocate on climate change, international development, and other issues across several organisations. He manages our overall organisational strategy and impact.