New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC)

How the Panel Works

NPCC is a 20-member independent advisory body that synthesizes scientific information on climate change and advises City policymakers on local resiliency and adaptation strategies to protect against rising temperatures, increased flooding, and other hazards.

The Panel is led by a team of five co-chairs who possess a broad spectrum of disciplinary expertise including climate science, demography, engineering, geography, vulnerability analysis, global change, architecture, and urban planning. Both the full NPCC and its leadership team were selected to ensure a diversity of backgrounds, research disciplines, and fields of technical practice.

NPCC4

The 4th NPCC is expanding on this model by producing a series of NPCC4 products. This will ensure that the Panel is flexible and responsive to short-term research needs – a function that is all the more important considering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York City and the interactions between the current health crisis with the ongoing climate crisis. As part of this expanded approach, the Panel will also release a fourth assessment report.

The work of the Panel will continue to inform the City’s ongoing efforts to ensure that New York City is prepared to withstand and emerge stronger from the threat of climate change. Following Hurricane Sandy, the City channeled major investments into climate change adaptation and has now committed more than $20 billion to adaptation efforts. These efforts include both completed projects—like the Reconstructed Rockaway Boardwalk and wetland restorations in Sawmill Creek and Sunset Cove Park—and also ongoing efforts, including coastal protections in all five boroughs as well as programs to increase social resiliency, strengthen small businesses, and harden critical infrastructure.

NPCC Members and Reports