Where Climate and Capital Meets AI: Inside One of the Largest Sustainability Events

At The Optimist Circuit Podcast, we're building the circuit connecting AI, tech, nature, and people to spark optimism and power solutions for society. This episode is exactly that circuit in action.Peter Gilmer spent a decade at Web Summit helping scale one of the world's most influential tech gatherings to 70,000 attendees. When a Sylvia Earle documentary moved him, he walked away and came back with a new mission: proving that the people with capital, technology, and urgency could actually find solutions to our worlds greatest environmental problem and build something. He created PlanetTech inside Web Summit, secured the UN as a partner, and won the Global Sustainable Development Award from the global events industry association. Now as CEO of the Nest Campus, part of NYC Climate Week, the largest sustainability event in the US, he's making his biggest bet yet.That bet is NestX. Launching September 22-24, 2026 at Climate Week NYC, NestX is the first dedicated AI platform inside the world's largest resilience economy gathering, built in partnership with HumanX, the premier conference for AI decision-makers. It's a big deal because for the first time, the AI innovation community including startups, investors, enterprise buyers, and technology leaders is being brought into the climate conversation in a structured, commercially meaningful way. Not as a side conversation. As a center of gravity.As Peter puts it: "AI allows us to identify, finance, and scale the most effective solutions with unprecedented speed and precision. This is how we move from ambition to deployment and from incremental progress to exponential impact."We dig into what NestX actually looks like on the ground: AI startups showcasing breakthrough solutions, facilitated one-on-ones between founders and investors, and high-level programming across the six sectors driving the resilience economy including energy transition, AI and technology, cities and infrastructure, supply chains, food, water and natural capital, and risk and finance. We also get into the real-world AI tools already moving the needle: satellite-based ocean monitoring, deforestation prediction, grid optimization, emissions accountability, and why fusion energy is suddenly back in the conversation as AI drives electricity demand to new heights.Peter is clear-eyed that AI is not a silver bullet. Its energy demands are real, and deploying it irresponsibly carries risk. But it is already reshaping what's possible for the planet. NestX exists to make sure the right people are in the room shaping how it gets used.If you're working at the intersection of AI, climate, and capital, or you just want a grounded and optimistic look at what exponential impact actually looks like, this one's for you. Share it with someone heading to Climate Week NYC, and subscribe so you never miss an episode.Connect with Peter Gilmer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergilmerimpact/ The Nest Campus: https://www.thenestcampus.com NestX: https://www.thenestclimatecampus.com/nestxFollow The Optimist Circuit Podcast: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/optimist-circuit/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_optimist_circuit/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OptimistCircuit/shorts TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theoptimistcircuitIf you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more people find the show.Support the show