New state Institute will address potential impacts of climate change

Hour photos / Matthew Vinci The Norwalk Land Trust had the Connecticut Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, Attorney Daniel Esty, left, as the guest speaker at its annual meeting Monday night in the Community Room of Norwalk City Hall. At right is Norwalk Land Trust President Kathy Siever. less Hour photos / Matthew Vinci The Norwalk Land Trust had the Connecticut Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, Attorney Daniel Esty, left, as the guest speaker at its annual meeting Monday night in ... more Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close New state Institute will address potential impacts of climate change 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NORWALK -- In preparation for more frequent and intense hurricanes, as well as other impacts of climate change, the state will launch later this month a Community Resiliency and Climate Adaptation Institute at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point.

Daniel C. Esty, commissioner of the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said Monday in Norwalk that Gov. Dannel Malloy will announce the launch on Jan. 24 at the UConn campus in Groton, a coastal community in eastern Connecticut.

Esty, talking at the Annual Meeting of the Norwalk Land Trust, said state coastal properties are more at risk of severe weather due to climate change.

"We know we have to addresss that. And we also know that we have to work -- state and local governments together -- on this agenda," he said. "So the governor will announce on the 24th of January the launch of another initiative that the legislation asked this department to think about, and that was launching a Community Resiliency and Climate Adaptation Institute.

"We have now found the funds to do this and will on the 24th of January launch this new institute at the UConn campus at Avery Point," Esty said. "So it's a very exciting initiative and puts Connecticut right in the forefront of this new concept."

Esty said resiliency is "word of the year" and that: "We have to plan for change and be prepared for what may happen."

The DEEP's portion of the funding comes from a $2.5 million plea agreement announced in December with Conopco Inc., a subsidiary of Unilever, for violations of the Clean Water Act.

It will be a "solutions-based" Institute where researchers will work to "look for ways to protect ourselves," according to state Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, Senate chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee.

"Connecticut has to think proactively and reactively about climate change," Duff said. "This will help position Connecticut so we're not just sitting ducks."

Duff said the timing is right for the state to acknowledge climate change and take action to mitigate the impacts of severe weather.

"Overall, reasonable people can look and say: 'Yes, our climate is changing,' We need to prepare and have a plan in place," Duff said. "If we spend a little now we may be saving much more later."

House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-142, said the Institute sounds like a good idea, but was not aware of the project. He expressed concerns about why the legislature was not informed. He also questioned where the on-going funding would come from to continue the project.

“It seems to have skirted the legislative process,” Cafero said. “It sounds good, but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered.”