Climate change has the potential to affect everyday life in New York City. Environmental conditions as we experience them today will shift, exposing the city and its residents to new hazards and heightened risks; we will be challenged by increasing temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, and more intense and frequent extreme events. While mitigation actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions will help to decrease the magnitude and impact of future changes, they will not prevent climate change from occurring altogether. Given the impacts of climate change and the high costs and long-term planning needed to adapt effectively, it is essential that investments be made today to begin the adaptation process. Taking action now will limit damages and costs through the coming decades and, in many cases, can provide near term benefits and operational cost savings. Prepared by the New York City Panel on Climate Change, this report outlines the need for early and ongoing adaptation actions in New York and suggests approaches to create an effective adaptation program.

To get the New York City Panel on Climate Change 2009 Report for a special offer of 70% off the cover price, please call the Wiley-Blackwell Customer Care number (877-762-2974) and place an order over the phone, providing the code (NYC09), the title and ISBN number 978-1-57331-800-6. This offer is good thru January 30, 2010.

New York City Panel on Climate Change

Cynthia Rosenzweig (co-chair), NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA GISS), Columbia University Earth Institute Center for Climate Systems Research (Columbia EI CCSR)

William Solecki (co-chair), CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities at Hunter College (CUNY CISC)

Reginald Blake, CUNY, New York City College of Technology

Malcolm Bowman, SUNY, Stony Brook

Andrew Castaldi, Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation

Craig Faris, Accenture

Vivien Gornitz, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Klaus Jacob, Columbia Earth Institute

Alice LeBlanc, Environmental Consultant

Robin Leichenko, Rutgers University

Megan Linkin, Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation

Edna Sussman, SussmanADR, LCC

Gary Yohe, Wesleyan University

Rae Zimmerman, New York University

Science Planning Team

Megan O’Grady (Project Manager), Columbia EI CCSR

Lesley Patrick (Project Manager), CUNY CISC

David Major (Lead, Adaptation Planning), Columbia EI CCSR

Radley Horton (Lead, Climate Science), Columbia EI CCSR/NASA GISS

Daniel Bader, Columbia EI CCSR

Richard Goldberg, Columbia EI CCSR

Michael Brady, CUNY CISC

Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning & Sustainability

Adam Freed, Deputy Director

Aaron Koch, Policy Advisor