Final Proposals For Governors Island’s New Climate Solutions Center Have Been Revealed

NYC Mayor Eric Adams and the Trust for Governors Island last week unveiled the three finalists that will be considered to create a new, state-of-the-art educational and research institution on Governors Island dedicated to implementing climate solutions.

The Center for Climate Solutions was designed to spearhead NYC as a global leader in efforts to combat the climate crisis. The project will support the research, development, and demonstration of climate solutions for NYC that can be mirrored globally as well.

Through supporting the growth of green and climate-related jobs, it will create 7,000 permanent jobs on Governors Island alone as well as nearly $1 billion in economic impact for NYC.

The three finalists began developing their proposals in April of this year as part of Mayor Adams’ “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for NYC’S Economic Recovery” plan.

Proposals were received from the following university-led teams:

• Coastal Cities Impact Team, led by Northeastern University, in partnership with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Fordham University, Cooper Union, Manhattan College, Johns Hopkins University, Jackson State University, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, University de Los Andes, Pontifica University Catolica de Chile, Imperial College London, Ben-Gurion University, University of Ghana, Ashesi University, University of Tokyo, and additional non-profit and on-Island partners
• New York Climate Exchange, led by Stony Brook University, in partnership with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Georgia Institute of Technology, Pace University, Pratt Institute, University of Washington, Duke University, Moody’s Corporation, Rochester Institute of Technology, State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College, Oxford University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, URBS Systems, General Electric (GE), and additional business, nonprofit, and on-Island partners
• New York Coastal Climate Center, led by the City University of New York and the New School, in partnership with Barnard College, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Columbia University, Cooper Union, New York University, University at Albany (SUNY), Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty, and additional nonprofit and on-Island partners.

The three finalist proposals contain a range of ambitious visions to advance research and expand educational and workforce development opportunities for New Yorkers, including but not limited to programs and engagement opportunities for K-12 students, undergraduate and graduate-level programs, adult education and workforce training opportunities, and broad public programming opportunities, according to the press release.

“These finalist proposals reflect our bold vision for a climate hub that will train and employ the next generation of climate experts, not only creating economic opportunity for New Yorkers but also positioning us at the cutting edge of critical research and at the front of the line to benefit from the big ideas that will emerge from here. I look forward to advancing a project that will surely be a game-changer for this city and the entire world,” said Mayor Adams.

A selection committee made up of representatives from the Trust for Governors Island, the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, the Mayor’s Office of Equity, and the NYC Department of City Planning will evaluate each proposal. The winning team is expected to be announced next year.

“The cli­mate cri­sis is the most urgent threat fac­ing our world, our coun­try, and our city. Just as NYC leads the way in busi­ness, tech­no­log­i­cal advance­ment, and inno­va­tion, we should lead the way in devel­op­ing solu­tions to this most exis­ten­tial of chal­lenges,” said U.S. Representative Jer­ry Nadler. “Establishing a world-class Climate Solutions Center on Governors Island will ensure that NYC will be a world leader in finding solutions and ways to over­come the per­ils of cli­mate change. And with these solutions, we can bring green jobs to our city and pro­vide mean­ing­ful oppor­tu­ni­ties for edu­ca­tion and research, while figuring out how to protect NYC from the future effects of climate change and sea level rise.”