From Forest Finance to Ocean Action: The Conversations Defining Nature’s Role in Climate Week NYC 2026
@Scott Warren
New York City is once again preparing to host Climate Week NYC alongside the United Nations General Assembly, a convergence of political leaders, business executives, investors, civil society organisations and advocates that often sets the tone for global climate and biodiversity negotiations in the months ahead.
Under the official theme Energy. Impact. Action., Climate Week NYC 2026 aims to discuss Energy for the transition and the urgency behind it, Impact for the outcomes that matter, and Action for meaningful, lasting change.
Read more
Related articles for further reading
It is against this backdrop that the Nature4Climate Coalition and more than 40 partners and supporters will convene the Nature Hub CWNYC 2026, a full day of discussions taking place on September 23 at KPMG’s New York offices. And at the heart of this year’s hub is the question: how do we move from recognising nature’s value to embedding it within the systems that shape our economies and societies?
A Decade of Progress and a New Set of Challenges
For much of the last decade, nature occupied a curious position within the climate agenda. Virtually everyone agreed it was important, yet nature often struggled to attract the political attention, financing and institutional support afforded to other climate solutions.
That is beginning to change.
For years, those working to advance nature-based solutions have argued that investing in nature is not philanthropy. It is investment in the natural systems that underpin economic prosperity, climate stability, food security and human wellbeing. Now, across boardrooms, financial institutions, governments and development banks, decision-makers are increasingly recognising that nature is not simply an environmental concern. It is an economic one.
Business depends on healthy ecosystems for water security, stable supply chains, productive landscapes and operational resilience. Investors are becoming more aware that biodiversity loss presents material financial risks, while restoring and protecting nature can create long-term value and reduce exposure to future shocks.
Evidence of this shift continues to grow. The recently released Gaining Ground: State of Private Investment in Nature 2026 report from Forest Trends and The Nature Conservancy found that more than $60 billion has been invested in nature-focused opportunities over the past decade, with annual investment increasing five-fold since 2016. Even more significantly, investors report over $180 billion in capital targeted for deployment in the years ahead.
The numbers point to meaningful momentum. But the central challenge for the nature community is transforming ambition into systems capable of delivering impact at scale.
The Nature Hub 2026 programme is designed around this transition. The event will convene leaders from business, finance, government, civil society and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to explore how nature can be integrated into the systems that drive investment, policy and economic decision-making.
The morning programme will focus on mobilising finance for forests, exploring topics including high-integrity carbon markets and governments leadership. Discussions will also help build momentum ahead of CBD COP17 and showcase how businesses and financial institutions are already contributing to the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The afternoon will turn to nature as critical infrastructure, examining how ecosystems support climate adaptation, resilience, ocean action and the emerging blue economy.
The event will conclude with an evening reception celebrating progress and partnership. At a time when headlines are frequently dominated by conflict, uncertainty and setbacks, the reception will spotlight a different story: one of restoration, innovation, leadership and delivery. It will showcase examples of forests being restored, communities leading conservation efforts, businesses implementing nature-positive strategies and governments translating commitments into action.
Five Conversations Shaping Nature’s Future
Across five interconnected tracks and new launches, The Nature Hub 2026 will explore one overarching question: How do we move from recognising nature’s value to embedding it within the systems that drive investment, business decisions, climate resilience and economic growth?
From forest finance and high-integrity carbon markets to nature as critical infrastructure and the future of the blue economy, discussions will focus on scaling proven solutions and unlocking the partnerships needed to deliver climate and biodiversity goals this decade.
One year after the launch of the Forest Finance Roadmap, the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) will bring together governments, financial institutions and development partners to assess progress towards mobilising the trillions required for forest protection, restoration and sustainable land use.
Following the ministerial session, Nature Hub participants will join a series of breakout discussions exploring the new public indicators designed to track progress across the Roadmap’s six priority actions. Conversations will focus on innovative financing mechanisms for forests, including the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), accelerating the forest bioeconomy, redirecting supply-chain finance towards deforestation-free production, aligning fiscal policies and public investment with forest and climate goals, leveraging sovereign debt instruments, and expanding demand for high-integrity jurisdictional forest credits.
What is really happening to the world’s forest carbon stores?
A major new global assessment, The State of Forest Carbon 2026 by Chloris Geospatial, is set to provide one of the most detailed pictures yet of how forests are changing across the tropics and the United States. Drawing on 26 years of satellite observations and annual measurements of aboveground biomass at unprecedented scale and resolution, the report offers a new lens on how forests are losing, retaining, and recovering carbon over time.
Its first public presentation will take place at the Nature Hub, with findings under embargo until 23 September 2026.
As voluntary and compliance carbon markets enter a new phase, attention is shifting from debates about whether nature markets should exist to how they can deliver integrity, transparency and impact.
This track will explore the latest advances in science, standards, governance and policy that are helping address concerns around permanence, durability, community benefits and environmental credibility.
Participants will examine emerging opportunities in jurisdictional REDD+, sustainable forestry, corporate climate strategies and community-centred value sharing, while discussing how evolving frameworks under Article 6 and other regulatory processes could shape the future of nature-based climate solutions.
How can nature become a fundamental part of how economies manage risk, resilience and growth?
This track positions nature not as an environmental add-on, but as essential infrastructure for the 21st-century economy.
Discussions will explore how businesses, investors and governments can use nature intelligence, freshwater restoration, sustainable agriculture, forest stewardship and coastal ecosystems to strengthen resilience, protect supply chains and reduce climate risks.
From watershed restoration to climate adaptation finance and nature-positive production landscapes, participants will examine how natural systems can deliver measurable economic, social and climate benefits while supporting long-term prosperity.
How do we translate growing political ambition for the ocean into investment and implementation?
With the ocean rising on the international agenda ahead of COP31 and the first Conference of the Parties to the High Seas Treaty, this track will explore how marine conservation, climate action and economic development can advance together.
Discussions will focus on the growing blue economy, innovative financing mechanisms, regional resilience initiatives and community-led coastal solutions. Participants will examine how to channel significantly more capital towards ocean-based climate solutions and ensure that investment reaches coastal and Indigenous communities already delivering results on the frontlines of climate change.