Adapting legal and governance systems to address dramatic changes in climate trends pose significant challenges. The focus of this Climate Adaptation Forum is on the development of new rules, regulations, institutions, and forms of governance needed to respond to our changing climate.

This Forum will:

• Provide examples of developing the political will to enact change;
• Discuss impediments from existing regulatory programs designed to protect the existing conditions;
• Present the findings of the Governance and Climate Adaptation Report prepared by UMass Boston Sustainable Solutions Lab on governance;
• And report on Resilient Rhody, the 2018 the Statewide Climate Resilience Action Strategy developed for the State of Rhode Island.

As with past Forums, there will be sufficient of time for audience engagement during the moderated discussion with the speakers.

Forum Chair

Ralph Child, Member, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Keynote Speaker

Achieving Legislative Change

Representative Kristin Diane Jacobs
Florida House of Representatives

Click to View the Presentation – Jacobs – September 28 2018

Speaker Agenda

Governance and Climate Adaptation: Updating Policies and Governing Institutions in the Face of Climate Change

David W. Cash, Ph.D., Dean
John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies
University of Massachusetts Boston

Click to View the Presentation – Cash – September 28 2018

Resilient Rhody: Rhode Island’s First Comprehensive Climate Preparedness Strategy

Janet Coit, Director
Department of Environmental Management
State of Rhode Island

Click to View the Presentation – Coit – September 28 2018

Resilient Cambridge – Legal and Governance Challenges

Iram Farooq, AICP, LEED-AP, Assistant City Manager for Community Development
City of Cambridge, MA

Click to View the Presentation – Farooq – September 28 2018

Adapting Regulations for the Rising Tide

Barbara Kessner Landau, Counsel
Noble, Wickersham & Heart LLP

Click to View the Presentation – Landau – September 28 2018

Moderated Panel Discussion with Audience Q & A

Moderator: Ralph Child, Forum Organizer; Member, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Panel Members:

• Representative Kristin Jacobs, Florida House of Representatives
• Janet Coit, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
• Iram Farooq, City of Cambridge
• Stephanie Kruel, VHB

Registration Information

Online registration is closed. Walk-in registration is accepted with payment via check or credit card at the door.
EBC Member: $35
EBC Membership is corporate – all staff from our member companies can register as an EBC Member.
Not sure if you’re a member? Visit our online Member Directory.

Non-members: $45

Government/Nonprofit: $15
This rate is available for those employed by Government, Municipal, or Nonprofit organizations.

University of Massachusetts – If you are affiliated with the University of Massachusetts, please get in touch with Rebecca Herst, Director of the Sustainable Solutions Lab at UMass Boston, for registration information. All others affiliated with universities or colleges – please use the above Nonprofit rate for registration.

Fine Print: Cancellations must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 21 for a refund. No-shows will be charged.