Stony Brook Hosts 2024 Climate Week NYC Program on Governors Island

 

Stony Brook University was a featured partner at the 16th annual Climate Week NYC last month on Governors Island, hosting a program on “Solutions to the Energy Transition Challenges in the NYC Region.”

Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event of its kind, held in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly and run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York. This year marked the first time Stony Brook presented at Climate Week, having been named the anchor institution for The New York Climate Exchange in April 2023.

The seven-day event was hosted by Climate Group, and invited guests took part in a slate of more than 35 climate-focused activities including tours, film screenings, tech showcases, creative workshops and more.

Despite the threat of rain the morning of September 24, attendees were able to enjoy a beautiful sunny day on the historic island. After breakfast, Robert Catell, board chairman, Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC), delivered opening remarks and introduced Stephen Hammer, CEO of the New York Climate Exchange. 

“Climate Week NYC attracts a global audience and I’m excited that this year we’re creating a new ‘go-to’ location and climate week experience,” said Hammer. “Visitors can participate in discussions about the latest climate policy and finance discussions and meet climate tech entrepreneurs. Our programming will offer a sense of what we’ll do on a bigger scale once our full Governors Island campus is operational in 2028.”

Stony Brook Interim President Richard McCormick impressed upon guests the significance of Stony Brook’s role with The New York Climate Exchange.

“Nowhere is the connection between knowledge, education, and addressing critical societal issues more clear than through our work in climate and our partnership and leadership position with The Exchange,” said McCormick. “With that, we are proud to reaffirm our commitment as the anchor institution of the New York Climate Exchange. And we are proud of our long history of research and education on mitigating the causes of climate change.”

Other speakers included Carter Strickland, chief sustainability officer and executive director of Climate Action, State University of New York (SUNY), who spoke about energy transition in New York State and Innovations at SUNY. Kathleen Schmid, deputy executive director, NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, spoke of sensible solutions to transition to clean energy for New York City. 

After the speakers, guests were broken up into 10 discussion groups, with each discussion group addressing specific questions that were assigned. From those groups came the talking points for the afternoon panel discussion that included representatives of The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and local energy providers ConEdison, National Grid, and Brightcore Energy. 

“It was amazing to see the room filled with such a diverse group of serious-minded people, all focused on real-world solutions to accelerate the transition to clean, carbon-free energy,” said James Acquaviva, center director, AERTC. “These are the climate actions that need to be taken to ensure we have an adequate and reliable supply of energy. Thanks to our partners at the NY Climate Exchange for hosting us, and to all who participated in this open exchange of ideas.”

“Looking back at this year’s iteration of Climate Week NYC, I am amazed at the scale and diversity of events that the New York Climate Exchange co-hosted with its partners, including Stony Brook, on Governors Island and throughout the city,” said Kevin Reed, a professor in Stony Brook’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) and interim director of Academic, Research and Commercialization Programs at The New York Climate Exchange. “It is a testament to The Exchange’s mission and approach to partnership. I am looking forward to what events The Exchange and Stony Brook have in store for next year.”

“This is important work for The Exchange, for Stony Brook, and for all of the important partners here today,” said McCormick. “This is our moment to address this critical challenge and there is no place better and no stronger partnerships than this.”