The challenges caused by changes in climate for people and the planet can only be addressed by collective thinking and actions across science, policy, business and the arts. The largest convening in the world to do just that is the annual NYC Climate Week, which takes place in New York City from Sept. 21-28, 2025. Because of the breadth of its participants and the intensity of tone, The New York Times described it as the “Burning Man for Climate Geeks.”
First held in 2009, NYC Climate Week takes place alongside the United Nations General Assembly, allowing heads of state to participate. In 2024, over 650 leaders from government, business, academia and the public attended over 900 events.
For Climate Week 2025, the University of Utah has representatives from the Sorenson Impact Institute, a nonprofit in the David Eccles School of Business whose mission is to expand the market for impact investing and to equip the next generation of impact leaders. They will host two dynamic forums that reflect their new Nature-based Solutions (NbS) Initiative, which explores how to best link the world of finance and impact investing with ecologically sound projects that leverage natural processes to address societal challenges.
One panel, led by Nalini Nadkarni, professor emerita in the School for Biological Sciences and Research Fellow in Residence at Sorenson, will explore how to better integrate the “intangible’ values of nature—aesthetic, spiritual and human well-being values—in considerations of investment in nature.
The other panel, led by Janis Dubno, managing director of Impact Finance, will explore the use of outcomes-based financing to scale nature-based solutions, approaches that help close the $500 billion annual funding gap between funding needs for nature-based solutions and current investment levels.
Nadkarni will also lead an event titled “Our Trees, Our Stories: Shaping a Transformative Future for Forests,” in collaboration with the National Geographic Society and the Doris Duke Foundation. This launches her global “Our-Trees Initiative” to inspire and incite actions that help understand and protect trees, which uses a storytelling approach that draws on sources from science, indigenous knowledge, arts and the humanities.
The summit promises to forge innovative connections and generate promising frontiers at a critical time for society and the planet.
