FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
New York, NY, April 22, 2015 – Timed to coincide with Earth Day 2015, the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College is publishing three new Issue Briefs on Climate Injustice – as part of the Institute’s series of publications on timely public policy and human rights topics.
Earlier this year, Roosevelt House, in partnership with The CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities, convened a conference on March 5 and 6, 2015 – Climate Injustice: Are There Solutions? – during which speakers explored the costs of climate change, strategies to strengthen human security and forms of governmental action. To build on that momentum, we are releasing a series of faculty-authored Issue Briefs. We will also be convening a series of faculty seminars throughout the semester. Limited seating is available, but interested participants are invited to contact Rafael Muñoz, Coordinator of Academic Initiatives, at rmu@hunter.cuny.edu.
Roosevelt House Issue Briefs are papers on topics of timely public interest written by Hunter faculty members and notable outside experts. The first round, “Affordable Housing,” published in January, 2015, provided commentary on Mayor de Blasio’s plan for 200,000 units of affordable housing. It drew on Hunter faculty research into assisted housing policy over the years, including rent subsidies, rent control and neighborhood preservation. The current set of three Issue Briefs on “Climate Injustice” have been published on the Roosevelt House faculty publications website and distributed to select nonprofit partners.
The Issue Briefs are written by Hunter College Professors William Solecki, Peter Marcotullio, and Bipasha Chaterjee, and cover the following topics:
William Solecki – Climate Injustice: Social Context
The moral and cultural questions behind the dollars and details
Peter Marcotullio – Climate Injustice: Demographic Destiny
Cities, ever bigger, can lead the way
Bipasha Chatterjee – Climate Injustice: Economic Division
Who pays, how much, and when
About The Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College
Roosevelt House, an integral part of Hunter College since 1943, re-opened in 2010 as a public policy institute honoring the distinguished legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Its mission is three-fold: to educate students in public policy and human rights, to support faculty research, and to foster creative dialogue. The institute provides opportunities for students to analyze public policy and experience meaningful civic engagement; for faculty to research, teach, and write about important issues of the day; and for scholarly and public audiences to participate in high-profile lectures, seminars and conferences.
About the Authors
Bipasha Chaterjee, is an environmental economist. She has extensive experience in working on environmental and climate change policy issues. She has led projects in the areas of climate change mitigation action, Kyoto protocol and clean development mechanism (CDM), renewable energy related research and advisory work in the United Kingdom as a public sector consultant at AEA Technology (currently known as Ricardo-AEA). Her main clients were the UK Government (FCO, DFID, DECC, DEFRA), Grantham Institute of Climate Change, UK and the European Commission. Her prior employers were the Food and Agricultural Organization/United Nations in Rome and KPMG Consulting in London. She is currently teaching the Environmental Economics and the Urban Economics courses (MA & BA) at Hunter College, City University of New York. Bipasha is qualified in Development Economics and Environmental Policy and Regulation from the University of Cambridge, UK and the London School of Economics, UK.
Peter J. Marcotullio has been at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY) since 2007, where he is currently Professor of Geography, Director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities and faculty member in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Program, CUNY Graduate Center. He is also Adjunct Professor of Urban Planning at Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation and a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the International Human Dimensions Program, Urbanization and Global Environmental Change project. Prior to 2006, Peter was Professor of Urban Planning in the Urban Engineering Department, University of Tokyo, and held several positions at the United Nations University, Japan. He has been a Coordinating Lead Author in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Coordinating Lead Author in the Global Assessment of Urbanization and Biodiversity and Contributing Author in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report.
William Solecki‘s research focuses on urban environmental change, and urban spatial development. Solecki is the former Director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities and has served on several U.S. National Research Councils committees including the Special Committee on Problems in the Environment (SCOPE). He currently is a member of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Megacity Study Group and the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP), Urbanization and Global Environmental Change Scientific Steering Committee. He also serves as the co-leader of several climate impacts in the greater New York and New Jersey region. Solecki’s teaching interests include courses on urban environmental change, urban spatial development, and research methods. In the past couple of years, he has worked at developed course material on climate change and cities. Since he started teaching, he also has taught classes in environmental policy and management, world geography/human geography, GIS, and resource conservation.
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