UNGA and New York Climate Week

At the UNGA world leaders discuss key issues affecting the world. Nature loss is an existential threat impacting all and subsequently must remain high on the agenda. At the same time, the world's biggest Climate Week takes place in New York.

The United Nations General Assembly is the main policy making body of the UN and during the two-week long schedule of events in New York at the UN Headquarters, many important decisions are made. The second week also sees lively advocacy at New York Climate Week, so overall this period in September is an important one on the global calendar and foreshadows the focus of governments in the coming year.

New York Climate Week brings together hundreds of events across the city, in partnership with the UNGA. It was first launched to facilitate networking and preparation for the UN’s annual Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings.

The Nature Positive Initiative has high participation in events taking place on the sidelines of the UNGA and New York Climate Week, from involvement in the Nature Hub, the World Biodiversity Summit, other events and bilaterals. The purpose is to ensure nature remains front and center in high-level discussions, as well as tune into the conversations around climate which play a big part during the period due to New York Climate Week.

A Nature Positive Economy & Society
How can we create a nature positive future & why does it matter?

22 September 2025

Join a conversation between Marco Lambertini, Convener of the Nature Positive Initiative, and Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility, live from New York Climate Week via We Don’t Have Time‘s Climate Hub.

The event will shine a spotlight on what it will take to bring about nature positive – a future where people live and thrive in harmony with nature; a future where there is more nature than there is today.

How to achieve the global goal to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, enshrined in the mission of the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed by 196 countries in 2022 under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, is the theme of the new book ‘Becoming Nature Positive: Transitioning to a Safe and Just Future‘. Marco Lambertini, lead author and commissioning editor, and Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, who wrote the chapter on nature-positive governance, will exchange views on the challenges and opportunities of nature positive, what makes it such an imperative today – and what needs to change in global governance, business, finance and society to make it a reality.

More information on how to watch via We Don’t Have Time.

2025

At New York Climate Week ’25, join Marco Lambertini, Nature Positive Initiative, and Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, the Global Environmental Facility, in conversation about the new book ‘Becoming Nature Positive’ and hear first hand how they think we can secure a nature-positive world.

Watch via We Don’t Have Time.

2024

The Nature Positive Initiative brought together public Public and private sector stakeholders at many events throughout the week. The week was also an important moment to kick off work to align state of nature metrics globally.

2023

The official launch moment of the new Nature Positive Initiative, with participation from CEOs from the 27 organizations which make up the Initiative.