Department of Forestry Forest Carbon and Climate Program

Title

Resilience, Equity, and Nature-Based Climate Solutions in New York City

Speakers

• Timon McPhearson, Professor of Urban Ecology and Director of the Urban Systems Lab, The New School
  • Timon McPhearson is director of the Urban Systems Lab, and professor of urban ecology at The New School's Environmental Studies Program. In 2018 he became a member of the IPCC and lead author for the urban systems chapter in AR6 WGII. He investigates the ecology in, of, and for cities and teaches urban resilience, systems thinking, and urban ecology. Dr. McPhearson is a member of the NYC Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) and the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), and co-leads the Nature-based solutions for Urban Resilience in the Anthropocene (NATURA) network. He is a senior research fellow at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, and senior fellow at the Stockholm Resilience Center, Stockholm University in Sweden.
• Emily Maxwell, New York Cities Program Director, The Nature Conservancy of New York
  • Emily Nobel Maxwell is Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Cities Program in New York and has dedicated her career to environmental justice and urban greening. An architect of the New York City Urban Forest Agenda, she serves on the leadership team of Forest for All NYC, working to protect, maintain, expand, and promote the NYC urban forest to benefit all New Yorkers justly and equitably. She co-authored the State of the Urban Forest in NYC. Emily helped launch TNC’s North America Cities Network. A Doris Duke Conservation and Ford Fellow, Emily previously served as Associate Director of National Wildlife Federation's Northeast Regional Center, leading urban school sustainability programs; mobilized and connected neighborhood action for NYC parks at Partnerships for Parks coordinated a community greening initiative in Philadelphia; taught in Lesley University's Urban Environmental Leadership Program; and founded the More Gardens! Coalition, an organization key to protecting NYC’s community gardens. Emily is an author of Building Capacity Through Diversity and Urban Coastal Resilience: Valuing Nature's Role. She has a B.A. in Urban Studies and M.S. in Natural Resource Policy with specialization in Environmental Justice. In her spare time, she can be found exploring the diverse birds and mushrooms of NYC and the Adirondacks.

Description

In this learning exchange session, Dr. Timon McPhearson and Emily Nobel Maxwell will discuss the opportunities of urban forests to improve climate resilience and equity through recent efforts locally in New York City. As a co-founder of the Forest for All NYC coalition, Maxwell will discuss some of the key issues and needs for urban forestry investments in New York City and the ongoing research, organizing, and action informed by the coalition's work to date and The Nature Conservancy’s research.  Emily will discuss the development and publication of the State of the Urban Forest in NYC and the NYC Urban Forest Agenda. To provide an international perspective, McPhearson will discuss highlights from recent involvement in developing the latest UN IPCC report on climate change and nature-based solutions, and reflect on learnings from recent meetings including COP27 and COP15. McPhearson will also discuss the Biden-⁠Harris Administration recent commitment to developing and implementing a Roadmap for Nature-Based Solutions which highlights the protection and conservation of natural areas and reforestation. Together the speakers will explore critical issues and questions for how to equitably advance urban forestry and nature-based solutions from across global and local scales.

Supplementary Materials

• Emily Maxwell - Presentation Slides
• Timon McPhearson - Presentation Slides

Recording