The New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) 2015 report was recently released. The NPCC is co-chaired by NASA researcher Cynthia Rosenzweig, who stated in a press release that “the NPCC is a prototype for how federal government scientists and municipal policymakers can work together.” This is the second report by the NPCC and is an example of a “continuing assessment” that is updated regularly with the most recent advances in climate science and projections. This specific report was directed by a need to better address extreme events and resiliency following Hurricane Sandy. The report’s introduction notes that the work of the NPCC includes approaches that could be used in other areas as well as across regions or nationally.
The report includes climate projections out to 2100 for sea level rise, temperature and precipitation. It also characterizes future coastal flooding through storm surge modeling and provides information about climate impacts on public health. The report was co-produced by researchers, decision makers and stakeholders from NYC and is aimed at providing decision-relevant information to those working to enhance resiliency. The report’s recommendations indicate that coordination in the development and communication of climate risk information at different scales (city, state and national) is important in order to facilitate local level decision making. Recommendations for research and climate resiliency are also included in the report.