Transcript GRC-June-12,-2014-Me.. - Boston Green Ribbon Commission

June 12, 2014 Meeting
Materials
WELCOME TO OUR NEW GRC MEMBERS!
• John Donahue, CEO, Arbella Mutual
• Nam Pham, Executive Director, VietAID
• Marcy Reed, Massachusetts President, National Grid
• Penni Conner, VP and Chief Customer Officer,
Northeast Utilities
2
Dialogue with Boston Mayor
Marty Walsh
3
Climate Science Update
(Bud Ris)
4
AN INCREASING SENSE OF URGENCY
“U.S. Climate Has Already Changed, Study
Finds, Citing Heat and Floods”
“U.N. Climate Panel
Warns Speedier Action is
Needed to Avert Disaster”
CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE NOW
Direct Quotes from the IPCC 2013 Report:
•
“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the
observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia.
•
Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than
any preceding decade since 1850. In the Northern Hemisphere, 1983–2012 was likely the
warmest 30-year period of the last 1400 years.
•
Over the last two decades, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing
mass, glaciers have continued to shrink almost worldwide, and Arctic sea ice and
Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover have continued to decrease in extent.
•
It is very likely that the mean rate of global averaged sea level rise was 1.7 mm/yr
between 1901 and 2010, 2.0 mm/yr between 1971 and 2010, and 3.2 mm/yr between 1993
and 2010.
•
Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all
components of the climate system. Limiting climate change will require substantial and
sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.”
IPCC Working Group 1, 2013
6
NORTHEAST REGION
• Heat waves, coastal flooding, and river flooding
will pose a growing challenge to the region’s
environmental, social, and economic systems.
• Infrastructure will be increasingly compromised by
climate-related hazards, including sea level rise,
coastal flooding, and intense precipitation events.
National Climate Assessment, 2014
7
OBSERVED CHANGES IN NORTHEAST
• Average temperature: + 2 degrees F
• Precipitation: + 10% annually
– 5 inches more/year
– 70% increase in “heavy” participation
• Sea Level: 1 ft since 1900, higher than global
average because of land subsidence
National Climate Assessment, 2014
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THE FUTURE BY 2100
• Additional temp increases: 3-10 degrees F
(depending on emissions reductions)
• Heat waves: more extreme heat in summer, less
extreme cold in winter
• Precipitation: more extreme events
• Sea level rise: 1-4 feet (plan for 6 feet in high risk
areas)
• Hurricane frequency/intensity: still uncertain, but
SLR exacerbates vulnerability
National Climate Assessment, 2014
9
CONCLUSIONS
• Case for GRC focus on both emissions mitigation
and climate preparedness is stronger then ever!
• Good time to invest in:
– Rubbers and boot makers
– Gutter and culvert manufacturers
– Air conditioning companies
– Granite and concrete manufacturing
– Nova Scotia real estate
10
Green Ribbon Commission
Updates
11
GRC UPDATES
1. GRC in the News
2. Federal Climate Leadership Meetings
3. Preparing for the Rising Tide II (Vivien Li)
4. Boston Climate Finance Summit (Mindy Lubber)
5. Carbon Neutral City Network Meeting (Brian
Swett)
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GRC IN THE NEWS
Since Last July, the
GRC has been
mentioned in at least
20 news stories
in local and national
media .
AT THE TOP OF THE BOSTON GLOBE LIST
“One of five things Boston is doing right now to
prepare for the effects of global warming is
working with private-sector power players
through the GRC.
Lots of cities have civic groups, but Boston’s is
unusual: It’s rare to get CEO engagement in this
kind of enterprise, which Boston’s Commission
has. ”
Michael Fitzgerald
“How Boston is—and should be—preparing for rising seas”
April 4, 2014, The Boston Globe
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GRC FEDERAL CLIMATE LEADERSHIP MEETINGS
Gina McCarthy
Environmental Protection
Agency
Ernest Moniz
US
Department of
Energy
Michael Boots
Council on
Environmental
Quality
15
PREPARING FOR THE RISING TIDE II: LIVING WITH WATER
• Preparing for the Rising Tide (2013)
provided an initial assessment of
Boston’s vulnerability to coastal
flooding of up to 7.5 feet above
current high tide.
• Preparing for the Rising Tide II (2014)
provides 12 examples of outstanding
“Living with Water” designs used in
cities around the world to decrease
potential flood damage without
losing the vibrancy and livability of
their communities.
CLIMATE FINANCE SUMMIT
• Co-Sponsored by Ceres and Bank of America
• Invitation-only CEO briefing for Boston area
finance sector leaders
• Fashioned on the Ceres UN Investor Summit on
Climate Risk
• Targeted for November-December, 2014
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CLIMATE FINANCE SUMMIT GOALS
• Identify the important ways that global capital
markets are beginning to respond to the risks and
opportunities of climate change.
• Highlight Boston-based investors can best respond to
these opportunities and risks.
• Support the development of Boston as a global center
of excellence in climate finance.
• Connect the Boston finance sector to local climate
action efforts, through the Green Ribbon Commission.
18
CARBON NEUTRAL CITIES NETWORK
• 17 North American and International cities committed
to an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050.
• A partnership between C40, the Urban Sustainability
Directors Network and the Innovation Network for
Communities.
• Funded by the Kresge, Summit and VK Rasmussen
foundations
• First meeting in Copenhagen, week of June 16.
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