The University of Cambridge waded into London Climate Action Week to convene panels, showcase research and investigate innovation, and engage with global leaders in government, business, finance and civil society.

Alongside keynote speeches from UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, and an appearance from Prince William in support of his Earthshot Prize, Europe's largest climate forum hosted more than 700 events and 45,000 attendees.

Cambridge University was well represented by Cambridge Zero the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), the Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP), the Centre for Climate Engagement (CCE), Chapter Zero, Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS), Cambridge University Press and Assessment (CUP&A) and a raft of academics and staff from across the University.

Cambridge people hosted events, led panels, convened academics, business leaders, financiers and innovators, and drove conversations around research, education and practical action in the real economy.

Cambridge Zero Director Professor Emily Shuckburgh and CISL Chief Innovation Officer James Cole assessed the week in this thought leadership post on LinkedIn.

"Credible progress towards the energy transition is being made, but adaptation and resilience must also be prioritised," Prof Shuckburgh said.

"Nature is central to addressing climate change and AI could support transformative solutions if applied in ethical ways."

UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, delivered a strong call to action to CISL’s Corporate Leaders Group.

“This is the economic opportunity of the 21st century….. we’ve got a responsibility to be hopeful and to be determined and to recognise that we’ve come a long way. Yes, there are challenges and, yes, we’ve got a long way still to go, but we can absolutely do it,” Miliband told more than 100 business leaders at the CISL UK Business Group Alliance for Net Zero Summit in Westminster.

CISL's James Cole said LCAW appeared at a fragile time for climate action ahead of the global climate summit (UNFCCC COP30) in Brazil in November.

"This felt like an important moment for London – and Europe – to demonstrate leadership and to signal its seriousness about delivering climate action alongside economic competitiveness."

Mid-week the UK’s Climate Change Committee dropped a confidence-boosting report to Parliament. The report said that credible plans exist for cutting more than a third of the UK's emissions to meet the 2030 UK target, known as the Nationally Determined Contribution.

"It’s important we recognise in public that progress is being made, that we say more often that this kind of progress is happening now and that cutting emissions to net zero is becoming more achievable every week," Shuckburgh said.

Many of the Cambridge events lured innovators, academics, investors, policymakers and business leaders with a clear message: We already have a lot of the technology we need to meet net zero by 2050.

But the transition to a new energy system will come with challenges in sourcing critical minerals, safeguarding supply chains and the ethics of how we scour the Earth for new resources without creating further damage or exacerbating inequalities.

At the Royal Society, the Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) held its  annual conference where one panel in collaboration with Cambridge Zero looked into the evolving critical minerals strategy. Attendees heard how AI can help map those global supply chains for the critical minerals essential to a net-zero future.

CISL launched a sustainable innovation accelerator with global cosmetics brand L'Oréal to invest €100m into solutions from water security to alternative ingredients.

CISL’s Centre for Sustainable Finance also brought together leaders from across the finance sector in a series of events to explore how financial systems need to shift to enable private capital to support the transition.

Chapter Zero discussed improving governance and empowering boards to tackle the climate and energy transition agenda at an event at the London Stock Exchange.

Cambridge Judge Business School Professor Chris Marquis co-hosted a roundtable at Goals House on innovation where the key takeaway was a reaffirmation of the vital role of universities.

"Not just as research institutions, but as conveners, accelerators, and boundary-breakers across academia, business, and policy," Marquis said.

Dr. Eldrid Herrington, Head of Academic Engagement at the Centre for Climate Engagement, Hughes Hall moderated a webinar panel on rapid evidence synthesis. The panel included Professor Shuckburgh and Dr. Lidia Borrell-Damián, Secretary General of Science Europe.

CCE also saw its Law and Climate Atlas showcased by Lara Douvartzidis, Senior Legal Executive at the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance.

Cambridge University Press and Assessment hosted a conversation with three passionate students from across the globe—each sharing how climate change education inspired their journey from awareness to action.

Nature was also high on the agenda.

On the main stage of the Guildhall Great Hall, Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva argued passionately for nature solutions as a key part of COP30 later this year and the UK’s Special Representative for Nature, Ruth Davis, opened with a declaration that set the tone for the week: “Nature is not only at the centre of COP30. It is probably at the heart of London Climate Action Week for the first time.”

Cambridge is playing a key role here with the work of its Conservation Research Institute and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative showcased in a Cambridge climate and nature campaign supported by Sir David Attenborough and captured in an interactive climate and nature research map.

"The climate transition has moved from global commitments into a period of action," said Cole.

"We know that business, finance, and researchers are willing to act – when governments are clear and supportive – We have the means, if we have the will."