The Blogs: You’re invited to join Jewish events at Climate Week NYC

There is something wonderful about New York Climate Week.

For one week each year, New York becomes a gathering place for people from around the world who are determined to find solutions to one of the greatest challenges of our time: how to protect the people and places we love from climate catastrophes while building a healthier, more resilient and more prosperous future.

Climate Week NYC, taking place September 20–27 this year, brings together tens of thousands of people from government, business, finance, science, philanthropy, technology and civil society. The official program includes more than 1,000 events, with many opportunities to participate for free.

Explore the official Climate Week NYC program and events calendar HERE.

I have participated in and followed Climate Week for years, and I find the energy inspiring. There is a sense that the people in the rooms are not simply talking about what might happen someday. They are trying to figure out what we can do now. I always learn something new and helpful.

There is, however, a recurring challenge for Jewish participants – that Climate Week NYC almost always falls on the Jewish high holidays. That is because Climate Week is intentionally held alongside the United Nations General Assembly, bringing global leaders to New York at the same time. This year’s dates coincide with Yom Kippur. Frankly, it’s quite insensitive, and I hope it changes soon. But in the meantime, we make the best of it.

For Jews who observe the High Holidays, that creates a real dilemma. This year, Yom Kippur begins on the evening of September 20 and continues through September 21 — right at the beginning of Climate Week.

But I am also struck by what happens despite that challenge.

Jewish organizations, Israeli innovators and Jewish climate leaders don’t simply disappear from the climate conversation. They create own gatherings, build relationships and make sure that Jewish values, Jewish leadership and Israeli innovation have a place in the broader climate movement.

This year, Adamah, North America’s largest Jewish environmental organization, is bringing together Jewish environmental leaders, community leaders, investors, sustainability professionals, students and Israeli climate innovators for a remarkable series of Climate Week programs. Additionally, the Israeli embassy also is hosting an event for start up companies with climate solutions.

These events are worth knowing about — whether you are Jewish, Israeli, involved in climate work, interested in climate technology, or simply looking for people who are trying to turn concern about the future into action.

Jewish Climate Reception — September 23

On Wednesday morning, September 23, Adamah’s Jewish Green Business Network and Jewish Climate Trust will host the annual Jewish Climate Reception, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The gathering brings together founders, investors, executives, philanthropists, policymakers and sustainability leaders working across climate technology, sustainable finance, clean energy, real estate, entrepreneurship and corporate sustainability.

The program includes a fireside conversation with Nigel Savage, CEO of Jewish Climate Trust, and Craig Cogut, founder of Pegasus Capital Advisors.

There will also be a Women in Climate panel featuring Davida Heller, Managing Director and Head of Sustainability Strategy at Citi; Genevieve Rose Sherman, CEO of Concrete Transition Capital; and Ronit Eshel, Head of Technology Infrastructure at the Israel Innovation Authority. They will discuss their journeys as Jewish environmental business leaders.

What I particularly like about this event is that it recognizes something important: climate solutions require relationships. Investors need to meet entrepreneurs. Business leaders need to meet scientists. Community leaders need to meet people developing technologies. And people working in different parts of the Jewish community need opportunities to discover what they can accomplish together.

Reducing Risk, Building Resilience — September 23

That same evening, Adamah NY will turn the focus toward something increasingly important to Jewish communities everywhere: climate preparedness.

From 6–8 p.m. at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, “Reducing Risk, Building Resilience: A Jewish Climate Action Agenda” will launch Adamah NY’s new Climate Security program.

The premise is straightforward but powerful. Heat, flooding, extreme weather and infrastructure challenges are no longer abstract issues. They affect our communities, our institutions and our neighbors.

So what can Jewish institutions do?

The evening will explore how synagogues, JCCs and other Jewish institutions can become trusted anchors of preparedness, connection and care — moving from climate awareness toward actual readiness.

Rabbi Joanna Samuels, CEO of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, will offer opening remarks.

Panelists include:

Abby Knopp, Managing Director of Network Department, UJA-Federation
Adam Cohen, Cofounder and CTO, Ninedot
New York City Council Member Harvey Epstein
Karen Imas, Policy Director of Climate and Resiliency, Office of the NYC Comptroller

The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Shahar Sadeh, Founding Director of Adamah NY, with closing remarks from NYC Council Member Gale Brewer.

There is also a special pre-event beginning at 5:15 p.m., when Adamah’s college students and teens will gather for dinner and a conversation with Dr. Lucy Cummings, Director of Faith Sector Resilience at New York Disaster and Interfaith Services.

This is exactly the kind of conversation Jewish communities need. We should not wait for the next flood, heat emergency or severe storm to ask what our institutions can do. Preparedness is part of caring for one another.

Israeli Climate Innovation Meets American Investors — September 23

Also on September 23, Israeli climate innovation will take center stage at the Israel U.S. Climate Meetings Café.

This invitation-only gathering, hosted by the Israel Economic Mission and Israel Export Institute, will bring together climate investors, sustainability leaders and 10 Israeli climate technology companies for one-on-one meetings and networking.

The participating companies span technologies involving energy, water, infrastructure, food and other areas of climate innovation. The program includes meetings from 3–6 p.m., followed by a networking reception from 6–8 p.m.

For those interested in the extraordinary ecosystem of Israeli climate technology — and in helping promising technologies reach markets where they can have global impact — this is an important opportunity.

Event details and registration for the Israel U.S. Climate Meetings Café
The Desert Is the World’s Climate Lab — September 24

On Thursday morning, September 24, the conversation moves from New York to the Negev — at least conceptually.

“The Desert Is the World’s Climate Lab: From Extreme Conditions to Global Solutions” is being hosted by DeserTech, Adamah’s Jewish Green Business Network and E44 Ventures.

The invitation-only breakfast, from 9–11:30 a.m., will bring together climate investors, founders, corporate leaders and ecosystem experts to explore how technologies developed under extreme conditions can help build resilience around the world.

There is a compelling logic to this.

The Negev is an extraordinarily challenging environment. Water is scarce. Temperatures are extreme. Agriculture must operate under difficult conditions. Energy and infrastructure systems have to be designed with resilience in mind.

Those challenges have helped make the desert a living laboratory for technologies that can have applications far beyond Israel — from water and food systems to energy, resilient infrastructure and industrial innovation.

The program will feature discussions of emerging investment trends, presentations from selected Israeli climate startups and networking among investors, founders and corporate leaders.

Speakers include Ron Gonen of Closed Loop Partners, Daniel Baruch of JPMorgan and Jordan Kolpas of Antin Infrastructure Partners.

Investing in the Next Generation of Jewish Climate Leaders

There is another initiative this year that may ultimately be just as important as any single Climate Week event: the Adamah Climate Week Fellowship.

Adamah is piloting a new professional and leadership-development program for 10 Jews passionate about climate and sustainability, ranging from high school students through early- and mid-career professionals.

That matters because climate leadership isn’t only about today’s experts.

It is about creating the relationships and networks that will allow the next generation of Jewish climate leaders to work together — within the Jewish community and with the much larger global climate movement.

The fellowship is designed to build community, provide professional development and connect emerging Jewish leaders with New York Climate Week.

I hope this becomes much bigger than a one-year experiment.

A Jewish Contribution to a Global Challenge

Climate change is not a Jewish issue. It is a human issue.

But Jews have particular reasons to care about protecting communities, helping people who are vulnerable, preparing for emergencies and repairing the world around us.

The Hebrew concept of tikkun olam is often translated as “repairing the world.” Whether one uses that phrase or not, there is something deeply Jewish about taking responsibility for what happens next.

And Israel has another contribution to make: innovation born from necessity.

From water technologies to agriculture, energy, resilience and climate adaptation, Israeli entrepreneurs are developing solutions that can potentially serve communities far beyond Israel’s borders.

That is why I am so glad that Jewish and Israeli climate leaders continue to find their place at Climate Week.

Yes, it is frustrating that Climate Week and the UN General Assembly so often collide with the Jewish High Holidays. This year, observant Jews will once again have to choose among opportunities during one of the most sacred periods of the Jewish year.

But perhaps there is also something inspiring in the response.

We don’t have to choose between being proudly Jewish and being fully engaged in the global effort to address climate change.

We can bring Jewish values, Jewish institutions, Jewish leadership and Israeli innovation into the work.

And we can build bridges between our communities and the thousands of other people gathering in New York who are asking the same fundamental question:

What can we do — together — to protect the people and places we love?

That is a question worth asking during Climate Week.

And it is certainly worth asking during the Jewish New Year.