WRI at London Climate Action Week
World Resources Institute will have a strong presence at London Climate Action Week, taking place from June 21 to 29, 2025.
World Resources Institute (WRI) will have a strong presence at London Climate Action Week (LCAW), taking place from June 21 to 29, 2025.
With over 45,000 participants expected, LCAW provides a vital platform to amplify climate ambition and action at all levels, bringing together governments, businesses, and civil society to align their strategies, share solutions, and build momentum toward stronger climate commitments. WRI is a key actor at LCAW, through its partnership with LCAW organizer E3G and other organizations such as the World Climate Foundation, WWF, HSBC, and World Bank. WRI is organizing and participating in events that center on the importance of nature in climate action; people and community-led approaches in climate programs; and solutions at a policy and practice level.
Monday, June 23
The Business of Nature: A Guide for Turning Corporate Interest into Action
10:35 – 11:50 GMT+1
As a part of The Nature Hub’s events at LCAW, “The Business of Nature: A Guide for Turning Corporate Interest into Action” will officially launch “The Guidebook for Businesses on Nature”. This event is designed for corporate sustainability leaders, strategists, and professionals seeking practical, actionable pathways to take action on nature.
As momentum builds around nature-positive action—driven by nature risks and dependencies as well as new financial opportunities —companies face growing pressure to translate ambition into impact. This guidebook offers a simplified, strategic decision-making framework to help businesses of all sizes take immediate, scalable action.
Speakers:
- Roman Czebiniak, Director, Nature Based Solutions & Climate Private Sector, WRI
- Esther Choi, Research Lead, Nature-based Solutions and the Private Climate Sector, WRI
- Tom Smith, Director, Global Government Affairs and Business Diplomacy, Walmart
- Julia Moorad, Senior Manager, Climate Action, Salesforce
- Noura Tantawy, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, Holcim
Climate and the Future of Health: Unlocking the Health Co-Benefits of Corporate Climate Action
11:30-12:30 GMT+1
Hosted at The Conduit, Climate and the Future of Health brings together global leaders across climate, health, business and policy to tackle the growing impact of climate change on human health. This full-day event features keynotes, panels, and interactive sessions exploring actionable solutions on extreme heat, mental health, food systems and more.
Speaker: Steven Bland, Chief of Party, Clean Air Catalyst(on the ‘Clean Air’ panel at 11:30)
From Planning to Finance: Unlocking Investments for the Energy Transition
13:30 -17:30 GMT+1
This roundtable discussion at LCAW, hosted by the Climate Compatible Growth program with the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, will explore how to better align energy planning with downstream finance and policy. Building on the Data-to-Deal framework and the Global Coalition for Energy Planning, it will convene policymakers, financiers, and international partners to identify emerging best practices ahead of COP30.
Host: Climate Compatible Growth (CCG)
Speaker: Jennifer Layke, Global Director, WRI Polsky Center for the Global Energy Transition
Project Syndicate Session: The Business of Decarbonization
14:00 - 16:30 GMT+1
Despite high-level commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century, the process of actually phasing out fossil fuels, electrifying homes and industries, and decarbonizing supply chains is still at an early stage in most countries. Which industries are leading the way, and what lessons can others learn from them to help us accelerate progress?
Speakers:
- Seb Henbest, Group Head of Climate Transition at HSBC
- Jodie Keane, Senior Research Fellow with the International Economic Development Group at ODI
- Andrew Martin, Executive Vice President of Cascale
- Stientje van Veldhoven, Global Vice President and Regional Director for Europe, WRI
Moderator: Jo Coburn, Journalist and Presenter, BBC
The Ocean as a Solution to Climate Change
14:30 - 16:50 GMT+1
The ocean is one of our most powerful allies in tackling climate change. It absorbs more than 90% of the excess heat caused by greenhouse gas emissions and locks away large amounts of carbon through natural processes. Yet, ocean-based climate solutions still receive far too little attention in global climate policies and funding.
In 2023, the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, a group of 18 world leaders, published The Ocean as a Solution to Climate Change: Updated Opportunities for Action. This report highlights seven key areas where ocean-based solutions can make a significant difference, including offshore renewable energy and cleaner shipping, as well as the restoration of blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrasses. It also explores the potential of sustainable seafood, seabed carbon storage, scaling down offshore oil and gas, and new marine carbon removal technologies. Together, these solutions could eliminate between 4 and 14 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases in 2050, the upper range of which would be approximately equivalent to four times the 2021 emissions of the 27 EU member states.
This London Climate Action Week session will present key findings from the report and highlight practical progress across sectors, drawing on perspectives from government, industry, and civil society.
The event will conclude with a premiere film screening in London of international award-winning film director Liz Courtney’s latest documentary, Antarctica: The Giant Awakens.
Speakers:
- Tom Pickerell, Global Director, Ocean Program, WRI
- Emma Hardy, UK Minister for Water and Flooding
- Ruth Davis, Special Representative for Nature, United Kingdom
- Richard Bodal Hansen, Director of UK External & Regulatory Affairs, Orsted
- Andrew Stephens, Executive Director, Sustainable Shipping Initiative
- Tristan Smith, Associate Professor at UCL Energy Institute
- Abi Frankfort, Aquatic Food Lead, Ocean Program, WRI
- Dr. Desra Percaya, Indonesian Ambassador to the UK
- Arianna Abdul-Nour, Island Innovation, ECOP
Tuesday, June 24
Unlocking the Triple Dividend for Resilient Growth
10:00 – 12:00 GMT+1
The limited financing and insufficient prioritisation of adaptation and resilience-building are increasingly leaving communities unprepared for escalating climate risks. Resilience investments are often undervalued because their full range of benefits – including avoided losses, induced economic benefits, and wider social and environmental gains – are neither well understood nor clearly demonstrated. A recent analysis of 320 adaptation investments from around the world shows how they are high-impact, high-return investments that pay off even when climate disasters don’t strike.
This workshop will explore how integrating the triple dividend of resilience (TDR) framework can support more effective and economically sound adaptation investments and drive a resilient growth narrative. Participants will gain practical insights into the cost of inaction and the real value of adaptation, including the varied and often unquantified benefits of adaptation. Examples will draw from the UK as well as from developing countries. After sectoral and thematic breakout sessions, the workshop will conclude with actionable ways to scale up resilience across sectors and geographies.
Conveyed by:
- SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance
- The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
- WRI
Speaker: Carter Brandon, Senior Fellow, WRI
State of Climate Politics Forum 2025
13:00 – 18:30 GMT+1
The second annual State of Climate Politics Forum is a flagship event at London Climate Action Week. Hosted by E3G, the forum will feature prominent political leaders, policy makers, climate leaders, practitioners and experts. This high-level forum draws a global audience of leaders from across politics, foreign policy, international institutions and civil society.
Set at the midpoint in 2025, the State of Climate Politics Forum is a crucial platform for assessing dynamic geopolitical and political change and the progress and prospects for climate action. It invites leading voices and thinkers to engage in pivotal conversations on how to craft the politics and geopolitics necessary for climate safety at the midpoint of the critical decade for climate action.
Speaker: Stientje Van Veldhoven, Vice President and Regional Director for Europe, WRI (on the ‘The Public vs the Backlash: Untangling the Politics of Net Zero’ panel at 14:30)
Google AI for the Planet 2025
14:00 – 17:30 GMT+1
The half-day event will explore the potential of technology and AI for a healthy and resilient planet.
Hosted by Kate Brandt, Google's Chief Sustainability Officer, the purpose of the event is to create genuine exchange and engagement between leaders from industry, civil society, academia and government.
Speaker: Craig Mills, Land & Carbon Lab Director, WRI
Wednesday, June 25
Unlocking Your Menu's Potential: Climate Action for Business Success
08:30 – 12:30 GMT+1
This breakfast event will explore opportunities for the food service industry to cut emissions and support human health, while future-proofing your brand. We'll also cover the evolving climate policy landscape and how it will affect the hospitality industry. You'll leave with practical insights into what works, and what doesn't.
The invite-only event is hosted by Coolfood, the World Resources Institute's initiative to reduce diet-related emissions. It is co-hosted by The Food Foundation and the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
Speakers:
- Stientje van Veldhoven, Vice President & Regional Director for Europe, WRI
- Jenny Arthur, Head of Coolfood, WRI
- Matt Hay, Head of Culinary, UK&I, Sodexo
- Carolyn Lum, Sustainability Manager, Wahaca
- Sam Walton, Executive Development Chef, Vacherin
- Adam Raffa, Head of Sustainability, Dishoom
- Edwina Hughes, Head of Partnerships & Engagement, Coolfood
- Anna Taylor, Executive Director, The Food Foundation
Cities High-Level Dialogue and Reception
17:30-19:30 GMT+1
WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is hosting an invitation-only, high-level networking dialogue and reception during London Climate Action Week.
This event, at WRI’s London Office, will bring together a select group of senior leaders from the public and private sectors to discuss advancing sustainable growth through urban action and leadership.
Leading the Change: High-Level Networking Reception
18:30 – 21:30 GMT+1
Suzano, Rainforest Alliance, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and the World Resources Institute (WRI Brasil) are hosting an invitation-only, high-level networking reception during London Climate Week.
This event will bring together a select group of senior leaders from the public and private sectors who are at the forefront of action for climate, nature, and people.
Thursday, June 26
World Climate Investment Summit
09:00 – 16:00 GMT+1
The World Climate Investment Summit 2025 (WCIS2025) is a leading global event bringing together investors and finance providers who are accelerating climate and energy transition investments.
Organized by LSEG) and the World Climate Foundation in partnership with the Climate Investment Coalition, WCIS2025 plays a pivotal role in creating a forum for important discussions on climate finance, integrating nature-based solutions, and fostering public-private engagement. Its insights will shape discussions at New York Climate Week and COP30 in Belém, Brazil (November 2025).
Organized by the WRI Restoration team in partnership with World Climate Foundation’s Nature Investment Coalition, the roundtable “Restoration Finance: Unlocking Investment Opportunities” at 14:30-15:30, will facilitate discussions between leading investors, financial institutions, and sustainability experts, present examples where leveraging WRI's research, datasets, financial instruments, and initiatives such as TerraFund has managed to catalyse investment at scale.
Speaker: Nienke Stam, Director Restoration Finance & Capacity, Global Restoration Initiative, WRI
Moderator: Ed Davey, Head, World Resources Institute Europe UK Office; Senior Advisor, Food and Land Use Coalition; Advisor, New Economy for the Amazon and Congo Basin
Friday, June 27
Climate Resilience Finance Summit
09:00 – 17:30 GMT+1
London Climate Action Week (LCAW) has become a key platform for climate finance discussions. In 2025, the inaugural Climate Resilience Finance Summit will convene high-level leaders to drive action, aligning with global milestones such as the UN’s Finance for Development Conference and COP30, the 30th UN Climate Change conference in Belém, Brazil from 10-21 November 2025.
WRI will be attending the Climate Resilience Finance Summit with two sessions:
From Baku to Belém: How Can COP30 Unlock Adaptation Finance?
14:30 – 16:00 GMT+1
Speakers:
- Ivan Oliveira, Deputy Secretary for Sustainable Development Finance, Ministry of Finance, Brazil
- Maria Netto, Executive Director, Institute for Climate and Society
- Tom Mitchell, Executive Director, International Institute for Environment and Development
- Nicola Ranger, Executive Director, Earth Capital Nexus, LSE
- Thomas Tayler, Head of Climate Finance, Aviva Investors
- Gaia Larsen, Director, Finance Center, WRI
Challenge session: “How do we finance climate resilience in cities hit hardest by climate impacts?"
11:30 - 13:00 GMT+1
Speaker: Adriana Kocornik-Mina, Senior Urban and Regional Economist, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
Cover image by passitonfromthemill/Flickr.
