The New Forecast for NYC: May 13

Adaptation drinks, green careers, oceans, data centers, CDR, and more upcoming events

Author

Alec Turnbull
May 13, 2025

Good morning! And welcome to a joint edition of NY Climate Tech & The New Forecast, a new project to connect people working on ambitious solutions to hard problems.

This newsletter has grown out of the work we’ve done with Climate Tech Cities. What started as a monthly meetup has grown into the largest grassroots climate tech organization in the US. And it’s not going anywhere: we’ll continue the Climate Tech Cities mission and existing newsletters. NY Climate Tech will be back next week in its old format, with TNF going in parallel.

But it’s also time for something new. In this historic moment of uncertainty, local community and real networks are more important than ever. The New Forecast is a way for us to double down.

What can you expect? Well, a new format and platform for starters—we’re using Beehiiv, which will allow us to create more tailored newsletters for you and host multiple city sections under a single roof. We’re also here to help you make the most of your networking: a lot of you are looking for jobs, investment, or ways to navigate this deeply uncertain time. We’ll have even more curated picks to cut through the noise, a dedicated email for opportunities, and unique insights to help you plan your week.

Finally, expect more experimentation, ways to connect directly, and new tools to help you in your work.

Let us know what you think!

— Alec & The New Forecast

THE WEEK AHEAD
Event Heatmap

Unbound is in town. Back for their second year, Adapt Unbound (May 14-15) and Carbon Unbound (May 20-21) are two of the Spring’s best conferences. Adaptation and resilience is just starting its ascent up the hype cycle, and while CDR may be approaching the trough of disillusionment, there’s still plenty to discuss. If you’re interested in either, keep an eye out for side events like Climate Adaptation Tech Drinks (Tue, May 13) even if you aren’t planning on the main conference.

An expedition to clean up plastic from the remote corners of the Earth while building a sustainable local recycling economy? Must be Plastic Odyssey. Catch them in from France and SF at the NYC Ocean Meetup (May 15) at South Street Seaport Museum.

PICKS FOR THE WEEK
ONLY IN NYC
Gowanus Dredgers nighttime concertt

Drift in a canoe or find a seat on our floating docks and benches, listening to work by electropop, avant-classical singer Leila Adu on the Gowanus Canal

LOCAL NEWS

$1B for Climate in NY State

Source: NY Focus

Good news out of Albany could be better

NY State finally passed its budget bill last week, with a first-of-its-kind $1 billion climate action fund. The money is earmarked for green buildings, transportation, and thermal energy networks. While this is unabashedly good news, it could be better: the one-time injection is in lieu of an ongoing cap-and-invest program that would charge polluters and provide sustained funding for climate initiatives. But still, in 2025, let’s celebrate the wins! More at NY Focus.

CONFERENCE RADAR

🏝️ Rhode Island Stocktake (Thu, May 22. Providence): A who’s-who of state power players, with a focus on climate tech, CDR, and more.

💻 NY Tech Week (Jun 2 - 8. NYC): Founder socializing, AI everything, and some gems like EU Market Pathways for AI, Climate & Emerging Tech

🌆 Urban Future Forum: Building Blueprints for Advanced Energy Implementation (Thu, Jun 5. NYC): Full-day forum from NYC’s longest-running climate accelerator

📈 The Economist’s Sustainability Week US & Energy Transition Summit (Thu, Jun 12. NYC): A deceptively-named one-day forum with major corporates & NY energy leaders

🤖 Latitude Media’s Transition-AI (Thu, Jun 12. Boston): Energy infrastructure with your favorite podcast hosts turned LPO officers turned podcast hosts.

EVENTS THIS WEEK

Tuesday, May 13

Wednesday, May 14

Thursday, May 15

Friday, May 16

Sunday, May 18

Monday, May 19

UPCOMING EVENTS

Next Week

Coming Up