Professor of Economics Gary Yohe, a recent co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was selected this summer to become a member of the newly formed New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC). Modeled partly off of the IPCC, the NPCC was created by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to determine what effects climate change will have on the city.
“I am optimistic,” said Yohe. “Otherwise, frankly, I really wouldn’t have done it. The mayor is very much on board…he’s foursquare behind it. He’s gotten all of his agency heads to participate.”
According to an August 12 press release from Mayor Bloomberg’s office, the NPCC is composed mainly of experts from regional academic institutions. It also includes a few representatives of the legal, engineering, and insurance industries. As a member of the panel, Yohe will be working to advise the panel’s New York City companion group, the Climate Change Adaptation Task Force. The task force will develop plans to adapt the city’s infrastructure to counter the effects of climate change.
In the press release, Bloomberg explained his main goals for the panel and the task force.
“First, we have to shrink our carbon footprint to slow climate change,” Bloomberg said. “Second, we have to adapt to the environmental changes that are already beginning to take place.”
The new approach being taken by the City is encouraging to Yohe.
“I’m convinced that we have moved beyond thinking of climate as a cost/benefit problem and more of a risk-management problem, and that is a perspective that has been adopted by the NPCC and the task force,” Yohe said. “My goal is to actually show that beyond a framing in paradigm change…that’s actually something that you can do.”
Yohe was also enthusiastic about Bloomberg’s decision to start looking at ways to improve infrastructure.
“I’m also encouraged that these guys are thinking about adaptation,” Yohe said. “The mayor has made some progress in reducing the carbon footprint of the City. That’s the mitigation side, but this problem is going to require mitigation and adaptation. And it’s really exciting that New York City is essentially one of the few cities on the planet that’s really taking the lead in trying to think about how to do that.”
Yohe explained that his involvement with the panel began nearly a year ago at a November meeting of the IPCC, when he spoke with Cynthia Rosenzweig, co-chair of the NPCC. After that initial conversation, he was involved in discussions leading up to the formation of the panel and raising funds.
While praising New York City’s efforts, Yohe said that similar endeavors need to be initiated in all developed areas, not just big cities, and at all levels of government.
“The climate act that the Connecticut legislature passed last session includes an article that calls for the creation of a similar sort of task force for Connecticut—to think about how the state government could try to begin to think about climate risks and opportunities as they move forward, and think about infrastructure designs,” Yohe said. “And that’s kind of exciting.”
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