Earthjustice at Climate Week NYC 2026
This year, Earthjustice’s Climate Week NYC engagement is centered on Forging Progress: Bringing together the law, power, and accountability needed to deliver a just and durable climate transition.
Climate progress does not happen automatically. It must be built, defended, and strengthened over time. Innovation and scalable solutions are essential, but they are not enough on their own.
Significant headway requires strong legal foundations, transparent governance, and public trust. Lasting gains are forged through collaboration and a shared commitment to ensuring that climate solutions are effective, equitable, and accountable to the communities they serve.
Throughout Climate Week NYC, Earthjustice will engage with partners, advocates, policymakers, and leaders to explore how legal and policy frameworks can help unlock climate progress while protecting people, communities, and the planet.
Where to find us at Climate Week NYC 2026
Please check back regularly for newly added events
Monday Sept. 21
1pm–5pm
Powering Equity: Data Centers and Building a Just Digital Future
The rapid growth of data centers is creating new challenges and opportunities for communities nationwide, raising critical questions about environmental, economic, and public health impacts. Co-hosted by the NAACP Center for Environmental and Climate Justice and NRDC, this seminar brings together diverse stakeholders, including Mandy DeRoche, Earthjustice’s Director of Emerging Issues, to discuss policies and solutions that advance environmental justice, reduce pollution and resource strain, and ensure community voices shape the future of data center development. More details to come.
Tuesday Sept. 22
1:30pm–2:30pm
The Path Forward: Climate Policy & Regulations Beyond the Rollbacks
WE ACT for Environmental Justice's Envisioning the Future of the Environmental Justice Movement convening will commemorate the 35th anniversary of the First National Environmental Justice Leadership Summit, celebrating the movement’s achievements while bringing together leaders, advocates, researchers, policymakers, students, and community members to chart its future. The event will feature a panel with Hana Vizcarra, deputy managing attorney of Earthjustice’s Washington, D.C., Office, and other experts who will explore a forward-looking agenda for climate action across federal and New York policy landscapes, focusing on durable and ambitious solutions beyond current rollbacks.
Wednesday Sept. 23
8am–11am
Bio-Energy or Bio-Scam: A Course Correction for Climate and Communities
Using crops for biofuels such as ethanol or diesel, burning whole trees for electricity, or capturing purposely-generated manure methane for “renewable natural gas” all take us backwards on climate. Join Peter Lehner, managing attorney of Earthjustice’s Sustainable Food & Farming Program, and a panel of experts in an event drawing together advocates, funders, and others focused on laying the foundation for greater policy success.
Wednesday Sept. 23
9:30am–12pm
The Evolving Landscape of Climate Litigation: U.S. and Global Perspectives
This event, co-hosted by the Vance Center for International Justice and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and featuring Sam Sankar, SVP of Programs at Earthjustice, brings together leading voices in climate litigation for a conversation on where the field stands and where it’s headed.
Wednesday Sept. 23
3:30pm–5pm
Fans, Fanfare and Transit Fares: Harnessing Olympic Investments for a More Equitable Transportation Future
As we prepare for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games, join Candice Youngblood, senior attorney at Earthjustice, and a panel of experts to explore how event-driven mobility investments can create lasting benefits for local communities.
Thursday Sept. 24
8am–11am
Climate and the Courts
Join Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice, Sam Sankar, SVP of Programs at Earthjustice, and Steve Vladeck, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, for a discussion of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, ongoing challenges in the federal courts, and what these developments mean for climate progress.
Thursday Sept. 24
11:30am–2:30pm
Evergreen Council Luncheon
Over an intimate lunch, we’ll hear directly from Earthjustice experts Meagan Burton, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Northeast regional office, and Peter Lehner, managing attorney of Earthjustice’s Sustainable Food & Farming Program, about the vital work our supporters sustain. This invitation-only event is full.
Thursday Sept. 24
5pm–8pm
Book Launch: The New Merchants of Doubt
Join the Changing Markets Foundation and Worldshapers for an evening celebrating the launch of The New Merchants of Doubt: The Corporate Playbook of Big Meat and Dairy to Delay, Distract and Derail Climate Action. This panel brings together globally renowned experts, including Peter Lehner, managing attorney of Earthjustice’s Sustainable Food & Farming Program, in discussion around challenging agrobusiness.
Friday Sept. 25
10am–11:30am
Working Across Systems for Alaska Communities
Panelists will discuss how nonprofit organizations can share information, strengthen public participation, and coordinate advocacy while respecting Tribal sovereignty and local leadership. The conversation, featuring Gussie Lord, managing attorney of the Tribal Partnerships Program at Earthjustice, will highlight both the opportunities and challenges of working across systems toward shared goals.
Monday
Sept. 28
2pm—3pm
Safe Drinking Water Webinar
Missed Climate Week? This is a virtual opportunity to join Earthjustice for a webinar on our drinking water systems! Hear from a water engineer and legal experts about how to understand your water system, the safety and quality of your drinking water, and how to get more information.
Meet Our Climate Week Lineup
For media inquiries, please contact us at climateweek@earthjustice.org
President
Leading more than 640 staff in harnessing the power of law to protect the environment and people’s health in the U.S. and internationally, Abigail is the president of Earthjustice and Earthjustice Action, Earthjustice’s partner organization.
Senior Vice President of Programs
Sam develops and oversees Earthjustice’s overall strategy, coordinating the work of the litigation, communications, and policy and legislation departments.
Senior Attorney
An expert in gas and electric utility proceedings, Meagan works to cut the use of gas in buildings in New York and on related issues to slash greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector.
Director, Emerging Issues
Mandy leads work across Earthjustice on data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations, and other large loads — focusing on their impacts on the electricity grid, the environment, and communities.
Managing Attorney
Directing the Sustainable Food & Farming Program, Peter develops litigation, administrative, and legislative strategies to promote a more just and environmentally sound agricultural system and to reduce health, environmental, and climate harms from production of our food.
Managing Attorney
Gussie has worked with dozens of Tribes and represented clients in federal, state, and Tribal courts and administrative proceedings, helping Tribes to develop and enforce their own environmental laws and regulations. Gussie is a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.
Vice President of Litigation for Healthy Communities
A leading environmental attorney and legal scholar, Patrice has served, among other roles, in the Obama administration as a deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Vice President of Litigation for Climate and Energy
Jill leads Earthjustice’s litigation and legal advocacy to achieve a swift and equitable shift from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy and to curb the devastating effects of climate change.
Deputy Managing Attorney
Hana advocates for and defends strong federal climate action. She spearheaded one of Earthjustice’s first lawsuits against the new Trump administration after it illegally withheld grant funds set aside through the Inflation Reduction Act to help farmers, community groups, and Tribes transitioning to clean energy.
Senior Attorney
Candice represents community and environmental groups in state and federal court and advocates for agencies to adopt zero-emissions industrial and transportation policies.
Catch up on Climate Week NYC 2025
Abigail Dillen joined Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Bill McKibben, founder of Third Act, at The New York Times Climate Foward 2025 event to answer the question, “What does effective climate advocacy look like in an era of federal deregulation?”
About Climate Week NYC
Climate Week NYC, taking place September 20–27, 2026, is a premier annual convening that brings together global leaders, investors, policymakers, and changemakers to accelerate climate action and advance the transition to a clean energy future.
