kyu House Launches at Climate Week NYC
What happened on kyu House’s inaugural day.
Having previously represented in Dubai for COP28 and London at Climate Action Week, kyu House put down stakes in its hometown for Climate Week New York. In the first of its three days, kyu House got off to a lively start on Monday, welcoming receptive guests, sparking debate and changing mindsets.
Session Recap
Unlocking Collective Action for Climate Impact
With the urgency of the climate crisis and global heating requiring a move from ambition to implementation, the inaugural session of kyu House at Climate Week New York was a lesson in practical creativity.
Attendees of the SYPartners (SYP)- and Aspen Institute-hosted session, “Unlocking Collective Action for Climate Impact,” work across a spectrum of sectors and industries facing unique climate challenges, from consumer companies trying to “fix the cup” to leaders in global shipping, NGOs and cocoa exporters. Recognizing the need for less talk and more do, the session hosts underscored why collective action and coalition building are critical.
That said, working across organizations requires intention and know-how. “Coalitions have to find the productive space to navigate conflict,” stated María Ortiz Pérez, managing director of the Aspen Institute. During break-out conversations facilitated by SYP, the similarities in the problems — and importantly, solutions — faced by all came to light.
Session Recap
A Gender Transformative Approach to Climate Resilience
IDEO.org played host to a packed house for its presentation and panel discussion on taking “A Gender Transformative Approach to Climate Resilience.”
Margaret Greene, Greenworks executive director and advisor to the Chroma Collective, set the scene, explaining how every climate solution needs to consider gender from the beginning. Acknowledging that tending to both climate and women at the same time could feel like attempting to pat your head while rubbing your belly, Greene reminded us, “It can be done and we must do it.” She then shared a useful framework to evaluate climate projects via axes that run from exploitative to transformative, and harmful to regenerative.
IDEO.org’s Victoria Yan led an information-packed discussion between Black Fiber & Textile Network founder and director Teju N. Adisa-Farrar, One Acre Fund director Phoebe Lane, and Soraya Hassanali, deputy director of Global Affairs Canada. Here’s some of what they shared:
- Most organizations are struggling with the gender dimensions of the climate crisis, but there are already women and girls leading the way toward climate justice, noted Hassanali.
- “We need an ecosystem of networks to survive the coming crisis,” said Adisa-Farrar, who does not think intersectionality is enough.
- “The philanthropic sector is quite siloed,” said Lane. “When a program is genuinely intersectional it can be challenging to pull out different parts of the budget.”
Reception Recap
An Evening of Debate
The challenge and the opportunity of climate leadership are at the top of the agenda at kyu House this Climate Week. In his remarks opening the evening, Michael Birkin, kyu Collective CEO, noted that the world’s biggest problem has been relegated lower on the global agenda — but it’s something we have the power to change. “When we manage to energize human beings is when we actually make some progress,” he said.
The lively debate that followed, presented by BSR and Kite Insights, lived up to that promise with a serious provocation: Does climate action need American political leadership? After hearing 30 minutes of arguments For and Against, a good majority of the audience found themselves swayed from their initial For positions. Read on for some of the most persuasive points:
- “In the spirit of Albert Einstein, I don’t believe you can solve a problem with the same thinking that created it.” — Climate activist Clover Hogan
- “Whether we like it or not, what the U.S. chooses to do determines whether action will be effective. And the extraordinary opportunity here is the power of that [to be] used for good.” — Dr. Kirsten Dunlop, CEO, EIT Climate-KIC
- “The United States decided not to stay in the Paris Accord. And guess what happened? Nothing of consequence. And everybody around the world took notice that without the United States, you have to forge partnerships and bonds that are going to be constructive and more constructive with the United States not present.” — Gerald Butts, Eurasia Group vice chairman
Then, IDEO chair Tim Brown and its global head of climate & sustainability, Bryan Walker, led the room in a series of literal floor debates by asking “Where is greater creative leadership needed? In the realm of policy or desirability? In iconic or systemic innovation? Fear versus hope?”
This IDEO exercise in Creative Tensions asks the audience to move to different sides of the room to demonstrate where they stand. And as guests voted with their feet, the best moments came when people changed their minds.
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