Climate Week NYC: dates, who attends, and how founders get in

Next edition

Ticket tiers as published

How founders get in

Climate Week NYC is a citywide programme, not a single all-access conference: founders can build an agenda from independently hosted events, most of which were free in 2026, while some charged. Investor meetings, pitches and showcases depend on the individual event. The Hub Live is the curated central programme, with a separate ticket and app.

1. For the next edition, note the organizer’s announced dates: 2027-09-19 to 2027-09-26. The 2027 event calendar, registration details and startup-specific access are not yet published.
2. Use the official event calendar to find citywide events relevant to your startup, then register with each event’s host and check whether it is public or private. The organizer says most 2026 events were free, while some charged; individual events are independently organized.
3. For investor access, look for startup-focused events with explicit matching or pitching. For example, the 2026 Climate Week: Investors & Founders Connect listing offered curated investor-founder matching, lightning pitches and a networking reception; attendance was limited and approval-based.
4. Apply directly to individual pitch competitions or showcases if you want to pitch. The 2026 calendar listed competitions for early-stage climate ventures, student and research teams, and climate-tech startups; the application rules and deadlines were set by each event host.
5. Treat The Hub Live as a separate option, not a startup pass. Its 2026 attendee page listed ticketed registration at USD $1,100 per person and access to the Climate Week NYC app. The organizer’s FAQ also describes The Hub Live as invite-only, so check the 2027 registration terms when published.
6. If you want to host an event, the organizer’s 2026 instructions were to create an account, submit an event for review, and pay only after approval. The 2026 listed host fees were $1,200 per event for for-profit corporations and $300 per event for nonprofits, schools, community groups and government bodies; these were host fees, not attendee or startup-pass prices.

Independent event competitions listed for 2026: Make It in Brooklyn Climate Tech Pitch Contest; SEE THE FUTURE: Start Up Competition; NY Tech Meet Up: Climate Tech Edition.

Winners

• PollenPal (2026) — Up to $10,000: $5,000 unrestricted prize funding plus up to $5,000 in milestone-based commercialization support. source

Judges

• Priyanka Bakaya at ARPA-E source
• Rachel Slaybaugh at DCVC source
• Noah Sumait at Energy Impact Partners source
• Judy Chang source
• Shivika Arora source
• Colter Miller source
• Nicholas Ng source
• Angela Ng source

Meeting investors there

Climate Week NYC is a platform for independently organized events as well as Climate Group’s own Hub Live. Founders meet investors through the event-specific formats and registrations listed by hosts; there is no single Climate Week-wide investor-matching programme established in the published material. source

Investor firms the organiser lists (2026 (completed edition); 2027 (next announced edition, 2027-09-19 to 2027-09-26))

Congruent VentureG2 Venture PartnersNorrsken VCObviousOverture Climate FundPowerhouse VentureGeneration Investment Management LLPGiant VenturesSlate VCFrankenbuild VenturesHG VenturesAnywhere VenturesVitaminºC

The full investor list is available to registered attendees; see the official investor page.

Before you go: the hub's cold email to VCs playbook covers the pre-event outreach that fills a meeting calendar, and Causo matches your stage and thesis to the funds in its database so you know who to ask for a meeting.

Who speaks (2026 (completed edition); 2027 (next announced edition, 2027-09-19 to 2027-09-26))

• Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator and Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee · U.S. Senate
• Helen Clarkson OBE, CEO · Climate Group
• Valerie Volcovici, Senior Correspondent · Reuters
• Cecilia Vaca Jones, Executive Director of Breathe Cities · Clean Air Fund
• Paschal Donohoe, Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer · World Bank Group
• Sunya Norman, Senior Vice President of Impact · Salesforce
• Pritimukta Sarangi, Group Director – Sustainability and Technology · Princeton Digital Group
• Khaleefa Almheiri, President and Chief Executive Officer of Masdar Americas · Masdar
• Erin Sikorsky, Director · Center for Climate & Security
• Fiona Bennie, Partner – Impact & Innovation – Consumer Goods & Retail · Newton
• Bill McKibben, Author, activist, founder of Third Act · Third Act
• Danielle Holly, Executive Lead, North America · Ellen MacArthur Foundation
• Felipe Arango, Chief Executive Officer · Fair Trade USA

Full lineup: official speakers page.

Notable past speakers

• Mark Ruffalo, Actor and Co-Founder · The Solutions Project (2025)
• H.E. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister · Antigua and Barbuda (2025)
• Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition · European Commission (2025)
• Jane Fonda, Actor & activist · JanePAC (2025)

Sponsors and partners

Media partners: HiImpact, JCDecaux, 50 Shades of Green, Newsweek, Project Syndicate, Reuters Plus

Government partners: United Nations General Assembly (coordination)

Full list: official partners page.

Programme

Past editions, as published

Who attends

Official links and socials

In the press

• How Climate Week in New York Turned Into 'Burning Man for Climate Geeks' — The New York Times (2023)

Prepare for it

• How to cold email VCs — book the meetings before you land.
• The 12-slide seed deck — what to have ready when a partner says "send me the deck".
• Pitch Deck Roaster — a slide-by-slide pass before you submit to Independent event competitions listed for 2026: Make It in Brooklyn Climate Tech Pitch Contest; SEE THE FUTURE: Start Up Competition; NY Tech Meet Up: Climate Tech Edition..
• Accelerator deadlines — the application windows that open around the event.

Sources

Every fact above was read from one of these official pages on Oct 7, 2026:

• climateweeknyc.org
• climateweeknyc.org/2025-report
• climateweeknyc.org/2026-on-demand
• climateweeknyc.org/about-us
• climateweeknyc.org/agendas-climate-week-nyc-2026
• climateweeknyc.org/attend-climate-week-nyc
• climateweeknyc.org/event-search
• climateweeknyc.org/event-search/climate-week-investors-founders-connect
• climateweeknyc.org/event-search/make-it-in-brooklyn-climate-tech-pitch-contest
• climateweeknyc.org/event-search/ny-tech-meet-up-climate-tech-edition
• climateweeknyc.org/event-search/swiss-climatetech-showcase
• climateweeknyc.org/frequently-asked-questions
• climateweeknyc.org/highlights-climate-week-nyc-2026
• climateweeknyc.org/host-a-climateweeknyc-event-2026
• climateweeknyc.org/hubfs/Climate%20Week%202026%20Communications%20Toolkits/General%20public%20communications%20toolkit%20-%20Climate%20Week%20NYC%202026.pdf
• climateweeknyc.org/hubfs/Climate%20Week%20NYC/PDFs/Climate%20Group%2026406%20-%20CWNYC2025%20-%20Overarching%20Report%20v7.pdf?hsLang=en
• climateweeknyc.org/media
• climateweeknyc.org/news/climate-week-nyc-relentless-determination
• climateweeknyc.org/news/climate-week-nyc-uniting-world-climate-action
• climateweeknyc.org/news/highlights-27-september-2026
• climateweeknyc.org/news/its-time-highlights-climate-week-nyc
• climateweeknyc.org/official-map
• climateweeknyc.org/our-work/press
• climateweeknyc.org/speakers
• climateweeknyc.org/speakers-2025
• climateweeknyc.org/sponsors-and-partners
• downtownbrooklyn.com/news/2026/pollen-pal-wins-miib-climate-tech-pitch-contest
• facebook.com/TheClimateGroup
• instagram.com/theclimategroup
• linkedin.com/company/the-climate-group
• theclimategroup.org/2021-report-climate-week-nyc
• theclimategroup.org/ClimateWeekNYC2024
• theclimategroup.org/our-work/events/climate-week-nyc
• theclimategroup.org/our-work/events/climate-week-nyc-2023
• theclimategroup.org/our-work/news/thats-wrap-success-stories-climate-week-nyc-2021
• thenestclimatecampus.com/startups
• youtube.com/@ClimateGroup
• x.com/ClimateWeekNYC