Is Climate Activism Dead? We Went Looking for It in New York City
By
Christina Norman
|
September 24th, 2026
Climate Week NYC promised more than 1,000 events and 100,000 participants. On the streets of Manhattan, the world’s largest climate gathering was almost nowhere to be found.
Climate Week NYC describes itself as “the world’s largest climate event,” bringing more than 100,000 people to over 1,000 events across New York City. Organizers say it connects global leaders with communities working “on the ground” to build a low-carbon future.
Judging by the promotional material, New York should have been overflowing with climate activism.
So we went looking for it.
We visited the United Nations, where world leaders were gathering for the UN General Assembly. We walked around the Javits Center, home to some of Climate Week’s largest events. We searched Bryant Park, Central Park, Times Square, and Fifth Avenue. We rode subways and buses. We covered miles of Manhattan, keeping a sharp eye out for demonstrations, banners, billboards, information tables, or literally ANY visible evidence that the climate movement had descended upon the city.
We found almost nothing.
https://www.cfact.org/2026/09/24/is-climate-activism-dead-we-went-looking-for-it-in-new-york-city-2/
