Reflections from Climate Week NYC 2026

Last week Urban Climate Leadership (UCL) Certificate Program learner Aiswarya Murali attended Climate Week NYC and joined our team's Global Community of Practice Assistant Haby Gadio to share some reflections on a long but inspiring week of conversations and new perspectives. 

Aiswarya brought a unique perspective as a dual-qualified environmental justice attorney working with Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham, North Carolina. Drawing on her legal practice and experience in the UCL program, she reflected on the connections between environmental justice, urban resilience, emerging technologies, and democratic decision-making.

Q: What panels were most impactful for you this week?

Aiswarya Murali: As an environmental justice attorney, I was drawn to spaces that explored the intersections of systemic issues such as climate change, gender, and racism. I was also eager to attend panels focused on building sustainable and resilient cities, especially as an opportunity to connect those discussions with what I have been learning through the Urban Climate Leadership program.

The sessions I found most impactful were those that created opportunities for participants to engage in smaller groups, reflect on the work we have already undertaken to address climate-related challenges, and collectively brainstorm strategies, tools, and effective pathways forward in confronting humanity’s most pressing crises. I very much valued this collaborative approach at National Resources Defense Council's roundtable on Democracy in Action: Advancing Environmental Justice Through Democratic Reform and the session co-hosted by Lawyers for Good Government, the Environmental Protection Network, and America Forward on Justice by Design: The Future of Legal and Technological Support for EJ Communities.

I also found discussions on litigation strategies and practical advocacy tools especially valuable. The panel organized by New York University and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Data Center Buildouts as Civil Rights and Democracy Issues, offered a compelling exploration of how emerging infrastructure challenges intersect with environmental justice, civil rights, and democratic accountability.

Q: Did anything from the events you attended surprise you?

Aiswarya Murali: One thing that surprised me this week was how prominently data centers shaped conversations across several different spaces. There seemed to be a broad recognition that the rapid expansion of data centers presents an emerging challenge that demands urgent attention, particularly because of its implications for resource consumption, climate, local communities, and democratic decision-making.

What struck me most was the sense that this issue could also become an opportunity for communities across the country and potentially around the world to come together around a shared concern and reaffirm democratic values and processes. Hearing that narrative emerge so strongly in rooms filled with people from exceptionally diverse professional, geographic, and personal backgrounds was surprising and reassuring at the same time.

Q: What key learnings did you take away for yourself, the UCL program, or even society as a whole?

Aiswarya Murali: People often enter New York Climate Week with a degree of skepticism or even pessimism, wondering whether the conversations and ideas exchanged in these rooms will ever translate into meaningful change on the ground. I entered the week with some of that same skepticism, but I am walking away with a renewed sense of determination and purpose.

Spaces like these remind me of the importance of being in community with people who are working toward similar goals. They create a sense of kinship and camaraderie, while also allowing us to build new relationships, exchange tools and resources developed through our own work, and learn from strategies that have been effective elsewhere. Those exchanges can be incredibly valuable because they allow us to take ideas beyond the conference room and adapt them to our own communities and areas of work.

The UCL program's chapters and modules also shaped how I approached many of the conversations during Climate Week, particularly those focused on building more sustainable and resilient cities. The discussions made me think more deeply about how I can apply what I have learned through the program to emerging challenges such as urban data center governance. They also reinforced the importance of asking who is included and who is left out when cities establish climate adaptation and resilience goals. In particular, I found myself thinking about the often-invisible infrastructure and labor that sustain cities, including the contributions of informal workers, and how easily these communities can be overlooked in conventional urban planning frameworks. The week also encouraged me to think more critically about climate finance: not simply as a mechanism for funding infrastructure, but as a tool that, when designed equitably, can strengthen urban resilience while ensuring that the communities most vulnerable to climate impacts are meaningfully included in the process.

Q: Thank you so much for joining us. Are there any final reflections you'd like to share?

Aiswarya Murali: It was a long and inspiring week, filled with an incredible amount of information, ideas, and possibilities to reflect on. Reconnecting with old friends, meeting new people across the climate space, and engaging in so many meaningful conversations left me feeling rejuvenated and even more committed to being an effective vehicle for change toward a more just, sustainable future and a healthier planet.