Human-caused climate change presents significant risks to cities beyond the familiar risks caused by natural variations in climate and seasonal weather patterns. One of the foundations for effective urban adaptation planning is to co-develop plans with stakeholders and scientists who can provide city-scale information about climate risks — both current risks and projections of future changes in extreme events. This process requires support from a set of key science tools that allow for a more complete understanding of the urban climate system. These tools and shared understanding of science can help cities, already leaders in action, respond to climate change. This session will share the latest advances in how cities are using new science data and products to respond to climate change. How New York City, a global leader in resilience, has incorporated climate risk information from the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) into the city's planning will be presented by its chief Resilience Officer. Plans will be presented for the Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Program being developed in partnership with UNEP. Key science findings from cities around the globe, captured in the Urban Climate Change Research Network’s (UCCRN) Second Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC3.2) (to be published in December, 2017), will be shared. Recent development on the realization of integrated Urban Climate Services (UCS) for urban planner and related stakeholder from the URCLIM project will be presented. The session will conclude with a facilitated discussion led by a representative from C40, a large cities implementation network, with the goal of highlighting best practices on using science tools for decision-making.

Speaker:
Daniel Zarrilli Senior Director, Climate Policy and Programs and Chief Resilience Officer New York City Office of the Mayor 253 Broadway 14th Floor New York, NY USA Phone Number: 212-788-8534 Email: DZarrilli@cityhall.nyc.gov

Title: Building Resilience through Science-Informed Climate Action in New York City

Talk Description: Rising sea levels with increased temperatures, humidity, precipitation, and frequency of more intense storms pose challenges to NYC. OneNYC is the City's strategic plan for climate change action, and incorporates the ground-breaking climate change projections provided by the NYC Panel on Climate Change. We will discuss innovations and lessons learned with implementing a citywide resiliency program using the best available science and in partnership with communities and regional partners.

Speaker:
Rafiq Hamdi
Researcher
Royal Meteorological Institute
Avenue Circulaire, 3, B-1180
Brussels, Belgium
Email: rafiq.hamdi@meteo.be
Title: Science for Cities: The Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) ARC3.2 Report

Talk Description: The objective of the UCCRN is to foster a dialogue between local policy leaders and scientists regarding key climate action areas, including the urban heat island, and to present state-of-the-science knowledge on how cities are responding to climate change. This presentation will highlight key science findings from the ARC3.2 report, the second in an ongoing series of global, interdisciplinary, cross-regional, science-based assessments to address climate risks, adaptation, mitigation, and policy mechanisms relevant to cities.

Speaker:
Philip DeCola Chief Science Officer/Adjunct Professor Sigma Space Corporation/University of Maryland 1924 Park Rd., NW Washington, DC USA Phone Number: 202-641-7178 Email: pdecola@umd.edu

Title: The Integrated Global GHG Information System (IG3IS)

Talk Description: In order to provide a diagnosis of urban greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at scales relevant to decision-making and enable identification of carbon mitigation opportunities, cities need to understand the landscape of emissions. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Program in partnership with the UNEP has begun development of an Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS) intent on providing valuable guidance for the management of GHG reductions.

Speaker:
Valery Masson CNRM -GAME (URA CNRS & Météo-France) GMME/TURBAU
Groupe de Météorologie à Moyenne Echelle
Turbulence, Brouillard et Atmosphère Urbaine
42, Av. G. Coriolis
31057 Toulouse Cedex 1, France
Phone Number: +33 (0) 5 61 07 94 64 Email: valery.masson@meteo.fr

Title: URCLIM project: development of the Urban Climate Services

Talk Description: A general description of the newly funded project URCLIM. The goal of the project is to prove a concept: the realization of integrated Urban Climate Services (UCS) for urban planners and related stakeholders using open urban data and regional climate data.