Director Anthony Janetos Presents at MIT Symposium on Coastal Cities

Pardee Center Director Anthony Janetos was a featured speaker at the opening Plenary Session of MIT’s Climate Change Symposium on Sustaining Coastal Cities on June 16. The three-day conference, organized by the MIT Sea Grant College Program, seeks to address concerns over  climate-driven sea level rise, storm surges, extreme precipitation, and flooding and looks at potential options for adapting to these changes.

Prof. Janetos followed introductory remarks for the Symposium with a summary of findings and recommendations from the recently released U.S. National Climate Assessment.  His talk pointed out that climate impacts are occurring now, and that adaptation strategies are crucial to ensure that coastal cities such as Boston remain sustainable neighborhoods in coming decades. In April, Prof. Janetos was appointed to a review panel for the upcoming City of Boston’s Climate Action Plan where he will address these challenges directly.

The Symposium will address three broad components of sustaining coastal cities, including applied knowledge of climatic science in coastal areas, public health and safety concerns, and the potential for adaptation and mitigation measures in the future. The event will conclude on Wednesday, June 18 with a discussion of “next steps”.