Leaders Address Lessons From Hurricane Sandy
With the two year anniversary of Sandy just weeks away, National Wildlife Federation President & CEO Collin O'Mara addressed more than 350 environmentalists, policy makers, scientists and business leaders at the Northeast Risk & Resilience Leadership Forum in Stamford, Conn., and cautioned that coastal communities along the east coast remain highly vulnerable to sea level rise and other climate impacts.
The daylong forum tackled a number of important issues raised by Sandy through panel discussions and keynote speeches from powerful figures in government and the environmental community.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) a member of Congress' Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change, addressed the delegates and pledged to continue his push to have Congress adopt strong and proactive environmental policies that combat climate change, curb pollution, invest in renewable energy, and promote sustainable development solutions.
O'Mara and Sen. Murphy joined a host of other environmental organizations that took part in the forum including the Association of Climate Change Officers, the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), the Georgetown Climate Center, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Forum delegates also heard from Alice C. Hill, the senior advisor for preparedness and resilience to the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. As a member of the National Security Council Staff at the White House, Hill serves as the principal advisor on preparedness and resilience issues arising from climate change. Her duties include providing advice and counsel on implementation of the President's Climate Action Plan and developing policy regarding building resilient infrastructure. The former federal prosecutor and judge also works to remove barriers to ensuring resiliency, promotes creation of innovative delivery of climate change related information, fosters regional coordination of federal climate preparedness and resilience services, and leads interagency policy groups.
The Northeast Risk & Resilience Leadership Forum was the 10th in a series of Risk Mitigation Leadership Forums convened by the RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation.
Other prominent figures taking part in the forum included Dr. Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center; Dr. Bill Read, Knabb's predecessor; Katherine Greig, Senior Policy Advisor, Climate Change and Insurance in the New York City Mayor's Office of Recovery and Resiliency; Brian Swett, Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space for the City of Boston; and Adam Sobel, Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, Columbia University.
Other co-sponsors of the forum included the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) and WeatherPredict Consulting Inc.
Source: National Wildlife Federation