Last week, on the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced the City of Boston will be convening a regional summit to better prepare Greater Boston for the impacts of climate change. The announcement also marked the kickoff of an international design competition focused on climate preparedness, as well as an update of the City of Boston’s ongoing climate efforts.
“There is no issue more urgent than climate action. When we work together, the steps we take do more than protect us: they can bring us closer together, they can create good jobs, they can improve our health, our public space, and our civic life,” Walsh said. “I look forward to working closely with the MAPC, the Metro Mayor’s Coalition, and the Commonwealth on this critical issue.”
The half-day summit, which will be held at the University of Massachusetts Boston next spring, is a first-of-its-kind convening on regional climate preparedness and will establish a mechanism for coordination of regional, cross-government action going forward. It will include regional and state agencies such as MassPort, MassDOT, and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, as well as Mayors from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s Metro Mayor’s Coalition. The Metro Mayor’s Coalition includes Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Melrose, Medford, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, Brookline, Winthrop, and Braintree.
“Our cities share infrastructure, our residents cross borders every day between work and home, and our natural resources — rivers, wildlife, coastlines—intersect our region. We are one region and neither the Atlantic Ocean nor the weather will respect municipal boundaries,” said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “We will be more resilient when we share common principles and work toward shared goals. This summit is an opportunity to ask how we can use a shared understanding of climate science to make smart decisions about our shared infrastructure, to engage our common stakeholders, and challenge ourselves to take a broad look at our climate threats and not adapt but mitigate our impact on climate change.”
“It is essential that communities in the Boston metropolitan area work together on climate change,” said Richard C. Rossi, Cambridge City Manager. “Climate change is creating new stresses on our communities, and while we are individually doing a lot within our borders, what is missing is a regional strategy.”
“Climate change is a threat that municipalities throughout our region are already confronting. Chelsea, a coastal city, knows this is not a challenge we can face alone, and we are excited to work with our partners in the Metro Mayors Coalition to find common solutions,” said Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash. “The effort we’re launching today will ensure that all communities are aware of the effects that climate change will likely bring to the region, and will empower us with the tools we need to be prepared.”
“The impacts of climate change do not respect municipal boundaries,” said Marc Draisen, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. “It’s incredibly important that all of the cities and towns in Greater Boston work together to address issues like sea level rise, coastal flooding, and rising temperatures. Cooperation and planning are the keys to success.”