Lawmakers, state officials and industry leaders from 10 East Coast states and Quebec, Canada, gathered Friday, May 11, at Princeton University Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment to discuss non-partisan, regional solutions to reduce carbon emissions while promoting economic growth.
The “Northeast Legislative Summit on Climate and Energy: Advancing the Environment, Public Health and a Sustainable Energy Future” featured a day-long program of legislators, industry experts and Princeton faculty members. A series of discussions highlighted a variety of issues related to sustainable energy technologies and policies. The event was organized by the Council of States Eastern Regional Conference of Governments with support from the Andlinger Center and Princeton's Office of Public Affairs.
“I am extremely optimistic that with the discussions and with everyone here today that we will be able to articulate measures to move the needle on some of these very pressing energy and climate issues, especially in the state of New Jersey,” said Yueh- Lin. (Lynn) Loo, director of the Andlinger Center, as she welcomed the 70 registered summit participants, as well as students and faculty, gathered in Maeder Hall Auditorium.
Princeton Professor of Architecture Guy Nordenson discusses innovative approaches to making coastal communities more resilient to a changing climate.
Loo, the Theodora D. '78 and William H. Walton III '74 Professor of Engineering and Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, said she sees the Andlinger Center playing a key role in convening stakeholders at the intersection of technological innovation, public policy, market forces and human behavior — all necessary for a more sustainable energy system.
New Jersey State Sen. Christopher Bateman, the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, and State Rep. Reed Guskiora, deputy majority leader, made opening remarks. And a state congressman Andrew Zwickerwho chairs the assembly's science, innovation and technology committee and heads the Office of Communications and Public Information at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratoryintroduced the breakfast's keynote speaker, Robert Sokolowhis teacher mechanical and aerospace engineeringemeritus and senior researcher at the Andlinger Center.
Socolow provided an overview of the promise and challenges of achieving a low-carbon energy system in the Northeast and discussed ways to incentivize carbon reduction. The Northeast, he said, has “a world-class wind resource,” pointing to a map showing significant wind intensity from South Carolina to Maine.
“The US Northeast is taking low-carbon energy more seriously than ever before,” Socolow said in an interview. “There is a wide range of opportunities, particularly in energy efficiency and offshore wind. More will be achieved if states work together and this summit is a big step towards that end.”
Princeton faculty members Robert Socolow (center), professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, emeritus, and Alain Kornhauser (right), professor of business research and financial engineering, were among the speakers at the event.
The panels covered topics such as the future of nuclear power, which comprises about a third of the Northeast's energy supply and provides 90 percent of New Jersey's non-fossil energy (with solar and wind the rest), ways to evolve the business model of utilities as energy sources change. Participants also discussed promoting innovative transportation technologies, building resilience for coastal communities, and improving communications around climate change in order to expand legislative and public support. A hot topic included two bills that passed the New Jersey Legislature on April 12, calling for increasing the state's share of renewable energy to 50 percent by 2030 and also subsidizing existing nuclear power plants.
Lunch sessions allowed participants to learn from Princeton researchers about their work at the Andlinger Center.
Among participants from state governments in the Northeast, the audience heard from Princeton faculty members Alain Kornhauserhis teacher operations research and financial engineeringwho spoke about innovative transport technologies, and Guy Nordensonhis teacher architecturewho spoke about engineering and architectural approaches to making coastal communities more resilient to extreme weather events.
State Rep. Andrew Zwicker, left, who chairs the assembly's science, innovation and technology committee, introduced Socolow, who gave an overview of the promise and challenges of achieving a low-carbon energy system in the Northeast and discussed ways incentivizing carbon reduction.
Massachusetts State Sen. Marc Pacheco, president pro tempore of the Senate, said state officials in attendance particularly welcomed “the opportunity to hear from academic leaders in the Princeton community who have conducted cutting-edge research on the technologies and strategies that could to help the world avoid climate change disasters.”
Pacheco, founding chairman of the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change, moderated two afternoon sessions. Many officials at the summit have supported legislation in their states to decarbonize the energy system and develop plans to better prepare their communities for the effects of severe weather, he said.
“This has become critical after Superstorm Sandy and other severe storms that have hit our region in recent years,” Pacheco said. “Convening interdisciplinary discussions with experts from academia, the private sector and government fosters the type of creative thinking that can lead to innovative policies that benefit a wide range of communities.”
