London Climate Action Week (LCAW) 2026 is being held in the shadow of what the IEA sees as the most severe energy supply crisis in modern history, continuing conflicts around the world and increasing trade and economic tensions. Multilateral action is regularly paralyzed in the face of great power interests, and development budgets are being cut back due to competing priorities and political scepticism.
In this volatile global context, action on climate change often fails to make it into major Leaders’ speeches or capture the media headlines. Many commentators assume this change in political fashion reflects a fall in public support or a drop off in climate action.
This could not be further from the truth.
Investment in clean technology has grown six times since the Paris Agreement; reaching $2.4 trillion in 2025. As a result, last year global renewable electricity generation overtook coal power for the first time. As we highlighted at LCAW 2025, public support for more climate action remains high around the world, but people often doubt the ability of their governments to deliver, and underestimate both climate progress and public support in their own countries.
This year is LCAW’s eighth edition since our inception in 2019. Running from 20th – 28th June, LCAW 2026 will counter these negative narratives by demonstrating the robust growth in real climate action. One data point illustrates this: from 2024 to 2025, LCAW doubled in size to over 700 events, and this year sees even stronger interest from around the world and across the UK.
LCAW will be making its public campaign message “Don’t tell me climate action isn’t happening” visible on billboards across London and online. The WBCSD’s Business Breakthrough Barometer will also be launched at the LCAW opening at the Guildhall and demonstrate the extent of continuing global business momentum behind the climate transition.
London Climate Action Week connects climate diplomacy to real-world action
LCAW 2026’s overarching theme is “Cooperation in a fragmented world”.
Despite talk of a “rupture” in the geopolitical order, the growth of new leadership and alliances for climate action will be powerfully demonstrated at LCAW by the presence of five COP Presidencies – past, present and future – alongside ministers from around the world and city and subnational leaders, including major delegations from the US.
The LCAW Opening hosted at the Climate Investment Forum at the Guildhall will see major announcements from the Turkiye COP 31 President Designate, and the Australian and Fijian Presidency of Negotiations, laying out their priorities for this year’s climate summit. The Ethiopian government will also attend as future hosts of COP 32 in 2027.
The Brazilian Presidency of COP 30 will return to LCAW in force, to follow-up the outcomes of the Belem Conference last year. LCAW is supporting the redesigned Belem Action Agenda by prioritising and promoting events linked to the delivery of agreed international ambition goals. LCAW is also working with the growing global ecosystem of climate action weeks, from Rio to Shanghai, Bangkok and Baku, to support the delivery of the Action Agenda across the year. The first Lagos Climate Action Week will also be announced at LCAW.
With the UN’s major Biodiversity (CBD COP17) and Desertification (CCD COP17) Summits taking place this year, LCAW will host leaders from all three Rio Conventions – climate, biodiversity and desertification – who will showcase their synergies at Kew Gardens Climate and Nature Summit.
Discussions on the changing and challenging politics of climate will continue at the State of Climate Politics Forum, followed by the 35th Anniversary of GLOBE Legislators at the UK Parliament, bringing the world’s leading legislators to LCAW. Disinformation will be a key theme at both the UN Information Integrity Forum, and the inaugural Nicki Gavron Lecture.
Despite the real progress of the last decade, climate action needs to accelerate if the 1.5 °C Paris Goals are to remain within reach, even if some overshoot is now inevitable. LCAW will host many Pacific Island leaders who, as hosts of the pre-COP this year, aim to raise the devastating consequences for their nations of exceeding 1.5 °C, building on the discussions at the Berlin Climate Mobility Forum just before LCAW. The Pacific Islands will demonstrate their response to these risks through their proposals for the Pacific Resilience Facility and island electrification including at a flagship Pacific Blue Economy event hosted by the Australian High Commission.
With the prospect of a devastating El Niño this year, and the growing risks from 1.5 °C overshoot, LCAW will showcase the latest climate science, including the growing gaps in funding for global scientific networks. Science will be integrated across the week with a wide range of world-renowned scientists attending, including those from the World Meteorological Organisation, the Exeter Climate Forum, Climate Crisis Advisory Group and the Planetary Guardians.
The importance of stronger action on climate adaptation in all countries will be tackled at the second edition of LCAW’s flagship London Resilience Finance Summit, the Climate and Future of Health Summit, the inaugural Climate and Security Forum, and a range of events focused on tackling impacts everywhere from Small Island Developing States to the launch of a new heat strategy for London.
LCAW will mobilise action to tackle the dual energy and climate crises
Clean energy is already protecting people from volatile fossil fuel prices with the UK saving £1.7 billion since the Iran war began due to its solar and wind energy production. LCAW will convene leaders from around the world to focus on how to practically accelerate clean energy security, hosting a High-Level Global Energy Transition and Electrification Summit which brings energy ministers and CEOs together to examine ways to accelerate renewables and electrification. The follow-up to the ground-breaking Santa Marta conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels will also be presented by the governments of Colombia, the Netherlands and Brazil. Driving the energy transition in the UK and Europe will be highlighted at the Octopus Energy Tech Summit, UK-EU North Seas Energy event, and Charge Ahead.
Beyond the energy sector, the challenges of transitioning energy-intensive and broader industry away from fossil fuels will be addressed at the Green Industrialisation Summit and a high-level meeting of the Climate Club.
These themes will also be picked up by the hundreds of sub-national leaders attending LCAW at the EBRD Green Cities Summit, SmartCities World, the C40 Local Climate Action Summit and through strong sub-national delegations, including from America’s All In.
Despite clean technology prices plummeting, cost-effective solutions are not being deployed at a fast enough scale anywhere in the world due to bottlenecks in financing and market development. London is the world’s top green finance centre and LCAW hosts one of the largest global concentrations of climate and finance events, with over 200 held in 2025.
Leading into LCAW will be the FT Climate and Impact Summit and the week itself will see the return of the morning Climate Finance Live tv show, the Net Zero Delivery Summit, World Investment Summit, IIGCC Summit and Bank of China events and major new convenings including UNEP FI Global Roundtable and Economist Enterprise.
Beyond their direct impacts, the fossil fuel and food crises have driven inflation, kept interest rates high and worsened fiscal space in many countries, particularly those already struggling with debt. Events like the Development and Climate Forum and Ayrton Forum will examine the experience of developing countries building new country platforms to attract finance and the effectiveness of approaches to leverage more private capital into their climate transitions. The Nigeria Climate Investment Summit will showcase the energy transition of Africa’s largest oil and gas producer, as it adopts an ambitious new climate and energy regime. It is one of many events at LCAW linking global climate opportunities to London’s capital markets and investors.
Nature finance will be even stronger at LCAW this year including the Nature Hub at ZSL and Kew Gardens Nature Finance events. With a major global oceans conference just before LCAW, and the Pacific Islands’ focus on the blue economy at COP 31, LCAW will also see high-level diplomatic convening on oceans and climate with the COP Presidencies, alongside a new Oceans Hub & dedicated oceans financing summit hosted by Deutsche Bank.
LCAW has always recognised the importance of strong governance for attracting investment and maintaining public support for the climate transition. This year sees the return of the Climate Governance Forum hosted by the International Climate Councils Network and many events on law, corporate governance and climate litigation risk including the launch of the annual LSE Climate Litigation Snapshot.
London will showcase its strengths in circularity, the built environment, clean tech and AI
LCAW’s model is based on a portfolio of annual events tackling global issues which are rooted in London’s unique globally-networked “climate cluster” that employs over 300K people.
This year sees a range of new sectors delivering major events and raising their profile at LCAW.
In line with the priorities of the COP 31 Presidency, LCAW 2026 will host a Zero Waste Hub, with a high-level opening bringing Turkish and UK leaders to launch the Road to Antalya on Zero Waste. These issues will also be discussed in the many events building off London’s strong circularity sector.
London is home to one of the world’s largest built environment sectors ranging from architects, urban designers, civil engineers, system designers, construction firms and real estate finance. LCAW 2026 sees new Hubs at Arup and New London Architects tackling urban issues, the World Green Buildings Council Solutions Forum and a major new Built World Summit.
As the world’s second largest cleantech ecosystem, London is an innovation cluster for the UK and Europe, combining world-class technology companies, universities and venture investors. LCAW 2026 will be highlighting the breadth and depth of these networks with a new Clean Tech and Innovation Hub running all week. Other major events include Clean Tech Venture Day and an evening event highlighting European Clean tech. LCAW will also host multiple venture capital investing events including at Reset-Connect and Blue Earth Forum.
London is quickly emerging as a major global centre of AI and LCAW is preceded in June by the world-famous London Tech Week. The positive and negative impact of AI on the climate challenge will be debated fiercely across the week at events like SmartCitiesWorld and Google AI for the Planet.
The UK’s clean economy has grown 15% in the past two years, bucking the stagnation seen in other sectors. A critical objective of LCAW is to make the economic opportunities from clean technology innovation and market growth more visible to a general business and policy audience who will be meeting at several major events including the Opportunity Summit, the UK Business Summit and Reception and the UK Green Business Awards.
LCAW 2026 engages the “whole of society” in climate action
Though the diplomacy and business of climate change is vital, LCAW has always aspired to go beyond the climate bubble by engaging with culture, sport, music and broader communities typically absent at high-level policy gatherings. This year sees several events focused on engaging young climate leaders including the Future Climate Leaders Forum.
We encourage LCAW attendees to explore the diverse programme across the week, including the weekends, as LCAW drives its “whole of society” mobilisation in support of climate action.
The Burgess Park Climate & Nature Festival on LCAW’s opening weekend exemplifies the community-led action LCAW has galvanised. The new EarthFest event also embodies this spirit by transforming over the weekend from a decision makers’ summit into a community festival.
Creative events are being held across London from iconic venues such as Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, which will launch its first climate playwriting prize and host events bookending LCAW 2026; to the British Film Institute’s weeklong public programming including the European premiere of Force of Nature with The Walking Dead star, Andrew Lincoln, to Solutions House at Somerset House.
Building on the success of its Amazonia-focused debut at LCAW 2025, we will see the return of Brazil Creating Fashion for Tomorrow (BCFT), focusing on Brazil’s unique Caatinga biome, with an exhibition of renowned photographer Anna Mariani. Another highlight will be the unveiling at LCAW’s Zero Waste Hub of The King of Sustainability, the first sustainability portrait of King Charles III, made entirely of food waste and recycled materials, and part of the Royal Collection.
LCAW supports the Culture Global Stocktake, a collaborative policy initiative of leading culture and heritage organisations, to advance engagement of the creative industries in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
LCAW will be celebrating 15 years of BAFTA Albert and will end the week at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the country’s National Musicians’ Church, with special performances from local and international stars.
This is only a small sample of the LCAW agenda which can be explored in full on our website and will continue to grow until event registrations close on the 12th June.
The breadth, scope and creativity on show truly exemplify the open and inclusive ethos of LCAW and demonstrate the broad support that exists for climate action from “grassroots” of community action to the “treetops” of global diplomacy, business and finance.
