Every year, New York City plays host to Climate Week and the UN General Assembly, drawing leaders from across the public and private sectors.
With nearly 900 events on the agenda, the city becomes a global hub for dialogue on advancing net zero. Energy has always been at the heart of Climate Week, but this year it felt even more important, marked by a noticeable shift in the tone and direction of conversations. While decarbonisation remains front and centre, the focus has broadened to the full energy trilemma: security, affordability, and sustainability.
Yash Kaman, Managing Director at Kerogen | CelerateX, shares his takeaways from the Week below.
1. Surging electricity demand is reshaping every conversation
Across multiple sessions, one theme dominated: soaring electricity demand. Industrial electrification and the explosive growth of AI data centres are driving load increases not seen in a generation. Micron’s proposed facility in New York, for instance, could require up to 2 GW of power once it is operational.
The central challenge is clear: how to meet this demand without driving prices sharply higher. There were discussions on how AI might help address the energy challenges it contributes to, with some suggesting that AI-driven grid optimisation could potentially reduce projected demand growth by up to 4.5%.
Natural gas was also part of the conversation. While not celebrated, it was acknowledged as a necessary bridge fuel, particularly to support near-term data centre growth until nuclear and storage technologies scale. At Climate Week, this more nuanced perspective marked a shift from the more polarised views of past years.
2. Nuclear energy is gaining real momentum as a critical solution
The nuclear symposium was completely sold out, a signal of how much interest is growing. The tone has shifted from NIMBY to YIMBY (“yes, in my backyard”), with state and local governments actively competing to host new projects, largely thanks to job creation benefits. The numbers speak for themselves:
- A 100 MW solar farm creates 1–2 permanent jobs as well as between 280 and 360 construction jobs.
- A comparable small modular reactor (SMR) creates 374 permanent jobs and more than 1,200 construction jobs.
These figures are politically compelling, and SMRs are increasingly viewed as essential for providing 24/7 carbon-free baseload power. The IAEA projects SMRs could represent 25% of new nuclear capacity by 2050. But experts also mentioned how scaling can be a challenge. Investors and policymakers are now considering how to support potential frontrunners while not stifling innovation.
Notably, the new Advanced Nuclear First Mover Initiative, spanning New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wyoming, and Kentucky, underscores the bipartisan momentum behind nuclear growth in the US.
3. Climate finance and technology remain central to unlocking progress
Financing the transition remains one of the biggest hurdles. Trillions in capital are needed, with continued emphasis on forging public-private partnerships and reforming multilateral development banks to unlock investment in emerging markets.
Climate technology also had a strong presence, despite concerns that AI has absorbed a disproportionate share of early-stage funding. From moonshots to practical upgrades, batteries, conductors, turbines, and motors, there was plenty of activity across the innovation spectrum.