UMass Amherst Hosts Climate Leadership Summit

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

DATE:       Wednesday, April 18
TIME:        10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
WHERE:   John W. Olver Design Building, UMass Amherst

Prominent policy and thought leaders will discuss how communities and institutions can mitigate climate change and become more resilient. The event is convened in partnership with the UMass Amherst School of Earth and Sustainability and the Chancellor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee.

Student Showcase, Design Building Atrium, 10-11:30 a.m.,
An exhibit of undergraduate and graduate student projects and presentations that examine sustainability, climate change, environmental solutions, resiliency, green design, and other Earth Day topics. The showcase will feature a variety of work, including posters, videos, projects and other visual products.

Summit Speakers, Design Building Atrium, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

  • Curt Griffin, director of the School of Earth and Sustainability
  • UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy
  • State Sen. Stanley Rosenberg
  • David Lubin, sustainability strategist and expert
  • Carl Spector, commissioner of the environment, City of Boston
  • Angela Burnett, Climate Change Office for the British Virgin Islands and author of The Irma Diaries

Resiliency Speakers, Design Building Atrium, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

State, regional and campus leaders speak on reducing the impacts of climate change to become more resilient.

  • Katie Theoharides, assistant secretary of climate change, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, will discuss the Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan (first of its kind in the U.S.), and the governor’s $1.4 billion Environmental Bond Bill
  • Ambarish Karmalkar, Northeast Climate Science Center and UMass department of geosciences, will discuss research that has provided the statewide adaptation efforts with updated climate projections, including observed and expected trends in water resources, temperature and precipitation, and estimated sea level rise
  • Jeff Hescock, interim executive director, UMass Environmental Health and Safety, will discuss how the state framework being developed can inform the UMass Campus Resiliency Planning process

Campus Resiliency Community Visioning Workshop, Design Building 170, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Participants will explore what it would mean for UMass Amherst to be a climate-resilient campus, how that could be measured and recognized, and how resiliency can contribute to the University’s core mission.