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Three Steps to Help Survive Climate Change

Crain's Chicago Business

The City Needs a Community-First Approach to Solutions

An invited op-ed by CEO Bob Dean

No city is unaffected by climate change. In Chicago, we are protected from rising sea levels and we benefit from the world’s largest supply of fresh water, but our lives will still be disrupted. Climate scientists project that Chicago will experience more frequent severe storms, more neighborhood flooding and hotter summers—and recent experience has borne out these projections.  

Climate change demands a twofold response. We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, power generation, buildings and industry. Equally important, we must adapt to the reality of a changed climate. To survive and thrive in this future, Chicago should:  

First, recognize and address disparities in climate impacts. 

Second, invest systematically in green infrastructure. 

Third, rebuild the Department of Environment. 

The climate challenge facing our city is serious, and the scope of needed action is daunting. But the city that once changed the direction of a river certainly has the grit and the audacity to thrive in the face of climate change. Does it have the political will?

 

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