Crisis as Catalyst: Meeting the Moment with Transformational Investments
Details
Date: November 30, 2023
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm EST
Venue
Nutter, McClennen & Fish LLP
155 Seaport Blvd
Boston, MA 02110
The Climate Adaptation Forum is a collaboration between the Environmental Business Council and the Sustainable Solutions Lab at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Crisis as Catalyst: Meeting the Moment with Transformational Investments
The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 flattened much of Boston’s North End and ushered in building codes.
What else can we learn from past transformative disasters so when big storms hit we are prepared to come back stronger than before?
In the wake of a crisis, be it an extreme weather event, a pandemic, or something else, political dynamics shift that catalyze innovation and usher in possibilities previously deemed unimaginable. Join the Climate Adaptation Forum on November 30th to learn about these critical junctures in history when opportunities to do the impossible became reality.
We’ll explore these moments to glean lessons that will help us prepare for our current climate crisis. What conditions allowed these changes to take place? Did planning happen beforehand? What pitfalls should we watch out for? During this discussion, we’ll have the opportunity to learn from speakers exploring big infrastructure investments, safety innovations, and re-designing the urban landscape.
Forum Speakers
Hurricane Maria
C. Yulín Cruz
Former Mayor of San Juan
Puerto Rico
Quabbin Reservoir
Stephen Estes-Smargiassi
Director of Planning and Sustainability
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA)
Hurricane Katrina
Andreanecia Morris – presenting virtually
Executive Director
Boston Covid Response
Christopher Osgood
Senior Advisor, Infrastructure
City of Boston
Superstorm Sandy
Charles Viemeister – presenting virtually
Project Manager – Strategic Planning
Con Edison
Forum Co-Chairs
Nasser Brahim
Senior Climate Resiliency Specialist
Woods Hole Group
John Valinch
Senior Manager of Equity and Resilience Programs
Groundwork USA
Julie Wormser
Senior Policy Advisor
Mystic River Watershed Association
Adaptation to climate change has emerged as an essential and permanent topic for professional, academic, government and public discussion.
Civil engineers, architects, building owners, real estate investors, insurers, planners, environmental regulators, transportation providers, emergency responders, public health providers, and many others are grappling with how to incorporate the evident need for adaptation and resilience into much of what they do. Academia is also deepening its involvement with this most important and fascinating set of public policy issues.
The growing body of experience and expertise in adaptation is not widely appreciated either within or across the traditional silos that define professions, disciplines and practices. At the same time, there is no regular, ongoing opportunity for adaptation professionals from various fields to meet in Boston to cross-pollinate ideas and share solutions to common problems.
The Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) and the Sustainable Solutions Lab at the University of Massachusetts Boston have collaborated to establish a quarterly series of half-day Climate Adaptation Forums that will provide cutting-edge thought leadership on adaptation to climate change for environmental and energy professionals, policy makers, municipal officials, NGOs, and practitioners.
These quarterly forums will address everything from infrastructure and design solutions to communication challenges and barriers to implementation to policy solutions to the nexus of climate and equity. Local, national and global speakers will represent forward-thinking institutions, global firms, academia, government and other high level practitioners. Join the ever-growing group of professionals working to address the challenge of climate change adaptation and resiliency at the quarterly forums.
More about the Forum here: https://climateadaptationforum.org/
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