Get Past the Past: Climate Change Adaptation In & Around New York

From 20-26 September 2010 was Climate Week in New York. The week is organized by the Climate Group, an independent non-profit organization aiming “to show that cutting carbon makes good sense not just for the environment, but for jobs and economic growth.” I attended the meeting on climate change adaptation in and around New York. The meeting was hosted by the New York Academy of Sciences, and was moderated by Alyssa Katz of the Pratt Center for Community Development.

There were three presentations: Gary Yohe (Wesleyan University) talked about his work with the New York Panel on Climate Change, and the way in which the panel was prioritizing a series of targeted adaptation projects. Megan Linkin of Swiss Re was also part of the Panel. She explained how the insurance industry considers natural hazard risks and the possible implications of climate change. The last presenter was Christopher Zeppie of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He explained how the Port Authority was working on the reduction of risks for the harbor.

The presenters gave the impression that adaptation in New York is only at the beginning. The City is working towards a list of 44 prioritized projects, the Port is modifying its engineering procedures to reflect climate change, but there is no major concerted effort to safeguard the city from the impacts of climate and climate change. And yet, the risk seems to be there; especially the presentation of Megan Linkin of Swiss Re underscored –at least to me- the need for urgent action. She pointed out that New York is among the top 10 of port cities in terms of population exposed to coastal flooding, and New York is second only to Miami in terms of assets exposed to coastal flooding. And the ‘potential worst case scenario’ she painted for New York is a hurricane that would cause an insured loss of 100 billion and an economic loss of 200 billion US$, about three times the loss caused by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf.

Where does this leave us? From a Dutch planner’s perspective, the need for a major city protection program is obvious. I mean, Rotterdam’s risks were considerably less than those of New York, but its protection continues to be a major effort, involving city, harbor and national planning and infrastructure agencies. And the Dutch Delta Commission has made a comprehensive nation-wide adaptation program. But things get done in a different way here.

“Climate Change Adaptation in New York City – the New York City Panel on Climate Change 2010 Report” analyses the city’s risks for climate change and extreme events in a convincing and comprehensive way. In doing so, it does get us ‘past the past’ – but it is only the beginning of getting the city ‘ready for the future’. The next version of PlaNYC 2030, the long-term sustainability plan for New York, will need to address that challenge.