# Climate Week NYC activism and funding debates > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/climate-week-nyc-activism-and-funding-debates > Updated: 2026-09-28T17:50:47.000Z. Sources: 4. Developments: 2. During UN Climate Week in New York City, discussions and protests highlighted tensions surrounding climate activism. Marc Morano, executive editor of ClimateDepot.com, criticized the use of fear-based motivation in targeting youth, arguing such approaches are unsustainable. Concurrently, activists staged protests targeting artificial intelligence and data centers, claiming these technologies contribute to climate change. Following the conclusion of the nine-day event, scrutiny turned toward the scale of environmentalist funding. Data from the Capital Research Center indicated that environmental groups raised approximately $3.2 billion in 2020, up from $2.4 billion in 2019, with a small group of seven funders accounting for $1.8 billion of that total. Activists such as the Sunrise Movement continue to pursue long-term goals described by leadership as a ‘political revolution.’ The intersection of climate policy and technology was further evidenced by the election of Sunrise Movement co-founder William Lawrence in a Michigan Democratic congressional primary, running on a platform to ban AI data centers. ## Timeline ### 2026-09-28: Climate Week NYC highlights scale of environmentalist funding Climate Week NYC highlighted the growing financial scale of environmental activism, with nonprofits raising billions in recent years to support radical political and social goals. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/climate-week-nyc-highlights-scale-of-environmentalist-funding ### 2026-09-28: Marc Morano addresses climate activism during UN Climate Week NYC Marc Morano discussed climate activism and fear-based motivation during UN Climate Week in NYC, amid protests targeting AI and data centers for their environmental impact. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/marc-morano-addresses-climate-activism-during-un-climate-week-nyc --- Cite as: Climate Week NYC activism and funding debates. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/climate-week-nyc-activism-and-funding-debates