NRDC at London Climate Action Week: The Culmination of Global Sustainability Action

Accelerate the phasedown of fossil fuels

Clean energy is a multitrillion-dollar industry—sitting at the heart of global safety, national security, long-term economic resilience, and prosperity—and the next phase of the global economy will be led by those countries that embrace it. 

Recent market volatility as a result of conflict in the Middle East has exposed the economic risks of fossil fuel dependence, creating energy crises and price spikes around the world. This is particularly true for import-dependent economies and many emerging economies, underscoring the urgency of shifting to reliable clean energy systems that stabilize costs and protect livelihoods.

Short-term responses to these energy crises and economic shocks are not sustainable. We must transition to cheaper and more secure alternatives. The rapid growth of AI and data centers globally is increasing energy demand exponentially, further underscoring the need to break away from our dependence on fossil fuels and meet that demand with clean energy. LCAW provides avenues to build on the spirit of the first high-level Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, earlier this year, and to advance national road maps to accelerate such transitions.

Scale up climate finance while tripling down on adaptation

Global climate investments continue to grow, with clean energy now receiving twice the investment of fossil fuels. But this investment is still below the $6 trillion-plus needed globally each year to meet climate goals, and it is not distributed equitably, with most investments concentrated in major economies. Climate finance is not charity. It is a strategic investment that addresses the root causes of many of the crises we see daily: cost of living, supply chain disruptions, natural disasters, forced migration, and conflict.

At LCAW, leaders will appraise how to turn lofty goals into concrete actions that ensure vital investment flows, bridging the gap between policy ambition and real-world investment, execution, and delivery; elevating not only the role of the public sector and multilateral development banks but also that of domestic and private institutions to green financial flows and turn plans into investable and transformative solutions on the ground faster and at scale—including in more challenging areas like adaptation, as promoted by initiatives like FINI (Fostering Investable National Implementation for Adaptation and Resilience).

Adaptation is inherent to economic development, especially for the countries and communities most vulnerable to climate impacts. For instance, extreme heat, in particular, poses a growing threat to public health and to economies through reduced labor productivity, increased health-care expenditures, agricultural losses, and infrastructure and energy disruptions. Women, children, the elderly, and low-income populations bear the brunt of this. The need to drive comprehensive, practical, and scalable solutions for heat adaptation and resilience is urgent and profitable.

Protect nature and foster nature-based solutions

The global community can’t come close to reaching climate goals without protecting natural ecosystems like forests and oceans. While there is growing international momentum to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, the world remains far off target. And for too long, forest conservation efforts have focused almost exclusively on tropical deforestation, letting many Global North countries off the hook for widespread forest degradation from industrial logging to feed supply chains for products such as toilet paper and unsustainable biomass energy.

At the same time, there are important signs of progress. U.S. policymakers just introduced the U.S. TREE Act, which would align U.S. trade with the E.U. Deforestation Regulation. And at COP30, Brazilian President André Aranha Corréa do Lago announced a road map on halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030. This has spurred a global dialogue about what transformations are necessary to finally deliver on forests. LCAW is an important moment to build on that momentum.

Demonstrate that international cooperation can deliver

While multilateralism is more and more constrained, the latest breakthrough U.N. resolution on the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on climate obligations demonstrates that multilateralism can prevail. Tactics and perseverance with a coalition of the willing matter. At the end of the day, while some countries retreat into isolation, in order to effectively confront the climate crisis, we must deepen cooperation, not abandon it. That means sharing lessons on accelerating renewable energy deployment, protecting forests, and supporting vulnerable communities facing growing climate impacts. Doing it alone is not an option. Going together is the only way to build a sustainable future.

Across much of the world, progress is being driven by coalitions of countries, cities, businesses, investors, and communities that are moving forward together, sharing solutions and demonstrating what is possible. States and cities are often the ones carrying the torch, bridging the gap between policy and real-world outcomes.

And cities like London are proof points for implementation and productive dialogue. Here, action is not theoretical but already underway. London Climate Action Week must serve as both a stocktaking moment and an accelerator to address the climate and nature crises and protect people for greater health, safety, and economic stability.

We will be busy joining partners—and learning and shaping solutions with them—in closed-door sessions and through the following public events: