No Official Side Events at UN Global Climate Week—Except One: Panama’s Nature Summit to Take Center Stage
When the UNFCCC’s inaugural Global Climate Week convenes in Panama from May 19–23, world leaders will gather at a pivotal moment in global climate efforts. But due to a late change in host countries—from Colombia to Panama—there will be no official side events taking place during the UN’s first-ever Climate Week.
This unexpected gap in programming has left a vacuum for the kind of multistakeholder engagement that has become central to building momentum in the lead-up to COP. No pavilions. No exhibitions. No sanctioned side events by civil society, youth, or the private sector.
Except for one.
The Nature Summit: The Only Global Forum During Climate Week
Amid the silence of canceled events, the Nature Summit, hosted by the Government of Panama, stands as the sole major platform for leaders outside the formal UN process to gather and collaborate.
Taking place in the heart of Panama City, the Nature Summit will be the only high-level event during Global Climate Week that unites governments, private sector executives, philanthropists, and civil society in the same room. Its mission is clear: to forge public-private-philanthropic partnerships that scale nature-based solutions and accelerate climate finance heading into COP30, which will be hosted by Brazil in Belém this November.
With a curated agenda built around three thematic days—Blue Economy, Green Economy, and a culminating Day of Action—the Nature Summit will spotlight catalytic investment opportunities, elevate the role of island and frontline nations, and position the nature-based economy as a key pathway to achieving global climate goals.
Interested leaders can learn more and request an invitation at www.naturesummit.org.
Why It Matters: The Clock Is Ticking on 1.5°C
The backdrop to Global Climate Week is sobering. According to the latest climate science, the planet is on track to exceed 1.5°C of warming—a threshold the Paris Agreement declared essential to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Even with all current policies and pledges in place, the world is heading toward a 2.5°C future. That’s a world of widespread ecological collapse, economic instability, and severe human suffering—particularly for vulnerable island and coastal communities.
2025 is the year when countries are expected to submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. These submissions, due ahead of COP30, must reflect increased ambition, enhanced implementation plans, and transparent climate finance strategies. Without these updates, there is no plausible pathway to meet the Paris targets.
In this critical year, the original intention of Global Climate Week was to provide a space for governments to coordinate and for non-state actors—businesses, philanthropies, scientists, and youth—to plug into the process. But without official side events, that opportunity has been sharply limited.
The Nature Summit: Filling the Gap, Amplifying the Mission
This is why the Nature Summit’s role has taken on outsized importance.
Rather than a traditional conference, the Summit is structured as an invitation-only, high-level forum designed to incubate bold collaborations. Hosted by the Government of Panama in partnership with PVBLIC Foundation and Global Resilience Partners, the Summit will create an environment where real deals can be structured, relationships can deepen, and country-led initiatives can be elevated to global platforms.
From sovereign climate finance strategies to blue carbon markets, from waste-to-energy innovations to youth-led action campaigns, the Nature Summit is the only place during Global Climate Week where such cross-cutting conversations can take place—and turn into action.
Related Article: Panama Announces “2025 Nature Summit” Alongside UNFCCC Global Climate Week
The Government of Panama has made it clear: this summit isn’t about dialogue alone. It’s about delivery. It’s about ensuring that public, private, and philanthropic actors align their capital and capabilities to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and meet their climate targets.
A Singular Moment to Influence COP30
As the world looks to COP30 in Brazil, the need for coordinated, cross-sectoral action has never been greater. COP30 will mark the first stocktaking moment for updated NDCs. It will also serve as a litmus test for whether the international community is capable of bending the emissions curve in time.
Global Climate Week should have been a proving ground for such efforts. While the UNFCCC’s official sessions will still take place, it is the Nature Summit that will provide the only international stage for non-governmental leaders to make their mark.
In that sense, the Nature Summit is more than a side event. It is the de facto public-private-philanthropic engine of Climate Week—a launchpad for partnerships that can carry momentum all the way to Belém and beyond.
Learn More
To explore the agenda, request an invitation, or express interest in partnering with the Summit, Click Here
To follow official UNFCCC programming for Global Climate Week, Click Here
Reported by SDG News — covering the state of the world through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals.
