Max Politics – Issue Brief: Climate Change

Date: May 2, 2021
Host: Ben Max (Gotham Gazette)
Guest: Jarrett Murphy (City Limits)
Theme: How climate change and resiliency have become central topics in New York City's 2021 elections, and what questions candidates face

Episode Overview

This episode examines the evolving role of climate change and resiliency in New York City's political landscape, with a focus on the 2021 mayoral and citywide elections. Hosts Ben Max and Jarrett Murphy discuss how climate issues intersect with other policy challenges, evaluate recent progress and current targets, and outline what voters should watch for as candidates unveil their climate platforms.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rising Importance of Climate Change in NYC Politics

• Timestamp [00:05]

  • Climate change is increasingly a central campaign issue. Three leading mayoral candidates have released detailed plans, and “it seems like how New York City approaches climate change and resiliency is going to be a major focus of the 2021 campaign in a way it hasn't really been before.” – Ben Max

• Impact of Past Events

  • Superstorm Sandy (2012) was pivotal in exposing vulnerabilities, but climate wasn't a top campaign issue in 2013. Now, it's foregrounded in 2021, driven by recent policy action and visible risks ([02:06]).

2. Historical Context and Progress

• Timestamp [00:42]
  • Jarrett Murphy highlights the evolution:
    • “This is an issue that 20 years ago we wouldn't have discussed. … Mayor Bloomberg…began to make it a part of the city's sort of active policy discussion with Plan YC, which came out in early 2007.”
    • Mayor de Blasio set ambitious emissions reduction goals: 40% by 2030, 80% by 2050, with early benchmarks as soon as 2024.

3. Breaking Down the Issues: Emissions vs. Resiliency

• Emission Reduction ([03:19], [03:53])

  • NYC’s largest emissions come from buildings and transportation; city efficiency remains high due to density, but improvements needed.
  • Climate policies affect not just global warming but also local air quality.
  • “Things that are climate related measures like how the trash is picked up…things are all part of this conversation, in terms of what the air quality is in the city.” – Ben Max ([03:53])

• Resiliency Needs ([04:35], [05:41])

  • “Climate change is already here…the effects are being felt. They will intensify…regardless of what the world does to reduce emissions.” – Jarrett Murphy ([04:35])
  • Addressing private waterfront properties, “do you encourage them to move?” – Ben Max ([05:41])
  • Slow progress on major resiliency projects (“moved extremely slowly”) demands more mayoral and city council focus.

4. Policy Tools & Challenges

• Interlinking Issues ([07:20])
  • Climate intersects with “jobs, racial equity, what we do with our waste, how we handle our streetscape and, like, open space.”
  • Public housing (NYCHA) is especially exposed due to geography and building conditions.
• Complex Governance ([07:20], [09:16])
  • Climate policy involves not just the mayor but city council, state, and federal governments.
  • “The state buyout program after Hurricane Sandy was much more extensive than anything the city has done and is something that might be a model for what’s going forward.” – Jarrett Murphy ([07:20])
  • Federal involvement (e.g., Army Corps of Engineers study) is critical but unpredictable.

5. Specifics Candidates Must Address

• Areas to Watch ([09:16], [11:22])

  • Building retrofits and greener construction (Local Law reforms)
  • Pension fund divestment from fossil fuels
  • Future of fossil fuel infrastructure and pipelines
  • Greening NYCHA (energy efficiency, green roofs)
  • Transit system: congestion pricing, bus electrification, modal shifts from private car use

  “Are there ways to build out more public transit, get buses moving better, while also electrifying those buses? A lot of nitty gritty here.” – Ben Max ([11:22])

6. Big Questions for the Next Administration

• Means to Achieve Goals ([11:22], [12:13])

  • Approach: Fines, incentives (carbon trading), new financing for upgrades
  • Will changes be merely “goals,” or will they detail practical and funded delivery mechanisms?

• Crucial Policy Dilemmas

  • “What are the sort of potentially big fundamental changes in life in the city that need to happen to make the city's contributions to fighting climate change more serious?” – Ben Max ([12:13])
  • Should NYC encourage or forcibly relocate residents from increasingly unlivable, flood-prone neighborhoods? Many candidates avoid this “fundamental question about what life in the city is going to look like.” – Jarrett Murphy ([12:57])
  • How quickly and effectively can “a real green jobs vision be outlined and implemented”? ([13:36])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Climate change is already here…the effects are being felt. They will intensify over coming years, regardless of what the world does to reduce emissions.”
  — Jarrett Murphy, [04:35]

• “What will the next mayor do about trying to reduce cars and trucks on the city roads, improve air quality, and potentially try to get people more out of cars and build out a public transit network?”
  — Ben Max, [12:13]

• “Should the city encourage or facilitate or even force people to leave [flooding] areas? … That, I think, is a fundamental question about what life in the city is going to look like.”
  — Jarrett Murphy, [12:57]

• “There’s a huge list of resiliency projects that the city announced… that have moved extremely slowly. …That’s got to be one of the biggest conversation points in this election.”
  — Ben Max, [05:41]

• “It really is kind of a meta-issue, an uber issue that brings a lot of different topics together and it brings a lot of players together.”
  — Jarrett Murphy, [07:20]

Important Timestamps

• [00:05] – Introduction of episode focus: climate change in NYC’s 2021 elections
• [00:42] – History of climate policy in NYC, Bloomberg and de Blasio’s contributions
• [02:06] – Sandy’s impact on climate politics
• [04:35] – Climate impacts happening now, resiliency needs
• [05:41] – Slow progress on resiliency efforts
• [07:20] – Climate links to jobs, equity, public housing; state/federal roles
• [09:16] – City Council and Comptroller races; specific policy challenges
• [11:22] – Debate over “goals” vs. pathways; key questions for candidates
• [12:13] – What major changes are candidates willing to propose?
• [12:57] – The challenge of managed retreat and relocation
• [13:36] – The green jobs imperative

Closing Thoughts

The episode frames climate change as both a practical and existential challenge for New York City, touching every aspect of urban life and governance. As policy plans emerge in the 2021 campaign, the hosts stress the need for specifics—not just ambitious climate goals, but concrete strategies for emissions reduction, resiliency, green jobs, and, crucially, hard decisions about the city’s vulnerable neighborhoods. The conversation sets the stage for voters to demand seriousness and detail from candidates across all city offices.