As one of the world’s largest independent climate events, London Climate Action Week (LCAW) 2025 brought together a vibrant and diverse mix of changemakers tackling the climate emergency. With over 45,000 participants, discussions spanned a wide range of pressing topics, from AI and biodiversity to soil health and finance. Taking place in a pivotal time of fragmented global climate dialogue, the week had a vital role to play in convening voices, sparking inspiration and fresh ideas, and aligning collective efforts around a shared mission.
But amid all of the momentum and inspiring panel conversations, three uncomfortable wake up calls emerged that challenge the way we think about climate action. Are we making the systemic changes required, or are we stuck in a patterns that feel productive but fall short of transformation?
Wake up call #1: Your ‘solutions’ are yesterday’s playbook for tomorrow’s crisis
Here’s an uncomfortable reality we need to face: traditional approaches aren’t scaling fast enough for the challenges we’re confronting.
Scientists, corporates, financiers, policymakers, and frontline communities are all making meaningful progress across sectors. But these efforts often remain isolated, limiting their collective impact. We’re applying conventional thinking to an unconventional crisis.
The real opportunity lies in integration and rethinking how we work, learn and collaborate across sectors. The emergence of tools like AI for biodiversity monitoring, for example, shows how tech can support conservationists by freeing up time for vital on-the-ground work. But this only works if those tools are accessible, equitably deployed, and supported by the right education and infrastructure.
True climate action hinges on cross-sector upskilling and mutual learning, where corporates, governments, philanthropies, and local actors each play a role. LCAW embodies this ‘whole of society’ approach, showcasing the city’s role as a global convenor and highlighting the importance of pairing global innovation with local impact. This isn’t just about collaboration – it’s about breaking down barriers.
Wake up call #2: We’re still thinking about nature all wrong
While we did see nature move from the sidelines of climate conversations to centre stage throughout the week, we’re still adopting a narrow definition and understanding of nature, with discussions often limited to well-worn topics such as deforestation, pollinators and, as one panel aptly coined them, ‘the furries’ or ‘the fluffies’.
We’re missing the foundational systems that everything else depends on. Consider this: global soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined, yet 60% are already degraded. While we debate carbon markets, the ground beneath our feet is losing its capacity to stabilise our climate. Water systems, soil health, and ecosystem services perhaps don’t capture hearts and headlines in the same was as photogenic wildlife does, but they underpin everything: from the minerals in our tech to the food on our plates.
Despite compelling evidence on nature’s financial value (you can read more in our latest article here), this isn’t yet translating into widespread corporate action and investment. The disconnect between knowing nature’s worth and acting on it remains one of our biggest challenges.
Wake up call #3: We need to stop waiting for governments to save us
Despite weak signals that we’re starting to move beyond compliance towards value, we’re still – all too often – treating regulation as the destination rather than the starting point.
Yes, we heard some encouraging examples like the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) spurring companies to deploy innovative forest tracking technologies. But there’s a troubling pattern: businesses often wait for regulatory frameworks before taking meaningful action, then celebrate compliance as achievement. This creates a dangerous dependency. Regulations get delayed, weakened, or rolled back when economic pressures mount – as we’ve seen with the recent EU Omnibus Simplification Package. Companies that anchor their climate strategies to regulatory requirements alone are building their foundations on shifting ground.
The businesses that will thrive in a climate-constrained world are those moving beyond a compliance mentality. They’re not waiting for governments to define what’s possible – they’re defining what’s needed and getting there first.
From London to action: The real question nobody’s asking
After a week of inspiration in London, and with both New York Climate Week and COP30 looming, we face a critical question: How do we bridge the gap between what we know and what we do? The week proved we have remarkable collective knowledge, data, technology and passionate people working on climate solutions. But what emerged less clearly is how we translate conference insights into the systemic changes needed outside of the event spaces.
The climate challenge demands more than incremental improvements – it requires fundamental shifts in how we work, collaborate, and think about success. So the real measure of LCAW’s success won’t be the connections made or the insights shared during the week – it will be the actions taken in the months that follow.