From 22 to 25 September 2025, Flore Ghetti of SGI participated in New York Climate Week, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The meetings served to advance the work on synergies between the Rio Conventions and deepen SGI’s partnerships with several organizations.
Advancing Synergies
SGI's participation focused on advancing human rights-based approaches to climate action, promoting meaningful youth engagement and exploring synergies between climate, biodiversity and human rights frameworks.
A significant highlight was SGI's co-organization of a full-day event on 22 September at New York University School of Law. Titled "Law & Justice Go Planetary," the event brought together academics, policymakers, funders and community representatives alongside core partners, including UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change Elisa Morgera, SwedBio, the Climate and Development Knowledge Network, the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network consortium, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Human Rights Office.
The event explored how planetary approaches can create integrated pathways for addressing interconnected climate, biodiversity, and land degradation challenges. Organized around three themes—planetary pathways in international law, planetary knowledge and legal regimes and planetary financing—the event examined opportunities emerging from the landmark International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion delivered in July 2025. Ghetti moderated the final session on planetary financing, which explored rights-based funding approaches and how to better direct resources to communities that are protecting ecosystems.
Organized around three themes—planetary pathways in international law, planetary knowledge and legal regimes and planetary financing—the event examined opportunities emerging from the landmark International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion delivered in July 2025.
Values-based action and breaking silos
On 23 September, Ghetti attended "Rooted in Values: Turning What Matters Most Into Action for Nature" at KPMG, exploring how values-based approaches can unlock new ways of financing and collaborating for nature ahead of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (CBD COP17) in Armenia.
On 24 September, Ghetti participated in "Breaking Silos for United Action on Nature, Climate and Justice" at the United Nations Development Programme headquarters. This roundtable discussed how the ICJ Advisory Opinion, which clarified States' obligations to prevent environmental harm and protect ecosystems and human rights, can catalyze more coordinated implementation of the three Rio Conventions. Later that day, she participated in "Future Ready: Equipping Young People to Lead Through Crisis and Change" at the Cornell Club, organized by the Big Six Youth Organizations, which represent more than 250 million young people globally.
Global Ethical Stocktake dialogue
On 25 September, SGI joined the North American regional Global Ethical Stocktake dialogue organized by the Center for Earth Ethics at the Buddhist Tzu Chi Center. This dialogue brought together grassroots environmental leaders, faith representatives and UN representatives to discuss the moral dimensions of the climate crisis. The Global Ethical Stocktake is a groundbreaking initiative leading up to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, with inputs from self-organized dialogues integrated into a final report to be presented at COP30.
The ICJ Advisory Opinion has provided new legal grounding for coordinated action, while dialogues during the week offered practical pathways for implementation grounded in human rights and diverse worldviews.
Looking ahead to COP30
The 2025 New York Climate Week demonstrated growing momentum for integrated approaches to addressing interconnected environmental crises. The ICJ Advisory Opinion has provided new legal grounding for coordinated action, while dialogues during the week offered practical pathways for implementation grounded in human rights and diverse worldviews.
Looking ahead to COP30 in Brazil, SGI remains committed to amplifying youth voices and promoting rights-based climate action. The organization plans to engage collaboratively with several core partners for the landmark climate conference in the heart of the Amazon.
