A research team led by UMass Boston recently released the Greater Boston Research Advisory Group Report (GBRAG) entitled Climate Change Impacts and Projections for the Greater Boston Area, a five-year update to research on likely climate changes in the Boston area. The report’s purpose is to provide the City of Boston and surrounding municipalities with updated information that can be used to inform strategies to address climate mitigation and resilience. The 2022 report scope was broadened from the first, 2016 BRAG report to include Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) cities and towns.
The report delivers detailed information on projected changes over this century to temperature, storms and precipitation, flooding, sea-level rise, and groundwater in the Greater Boston area. In addition to reaffirming the necessity of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, the report highlights familiar warnings around increased frequency of extreme weather events and coastal flooding, but also spotlights underreported climate risks like decreased groundwater recharge, which has far-reaching consequences for infrastructure, agriculture, the availability of drinking water, and more.
This program, co-sponsored with A Better City, will provide an overview of report findings related to temperature, storms and precipitation, flooding, sea-level rise and groundwater from the lead report authors, Ellen Douglas and Paul Kirshen. A panel discussion with the subject matter experts from each report section (temperature, storms and precipitation, flooding, sea-level rise and groundwater) will follow and the program will finish with audience Q&A.
Speakers:
– Ellen Douglas, UMass Boston School for the Environment
– Paul Kirshen, UMass Boston School for the Environment
– Mathew Barlow, UMass Lowell College of Sciences
– Ambarish Karmalkar, UMass Amherst College of Natural Sciences
– Rob DeConto, UMass Amherst School of Earth & Sustainability
– Jayne Knott, JFK Environmental Services LLC