Newark Town Hall

Slides from Dr. Robert Kopp’s Presentation at the Town Hall can be found here.

The science is clear: climate change is real, humans are responsible for it, and it is having increasingly severe impacts throughout the world, including here in New Jersey. Sea-level rise associated with global warming is responsible for about 70% of tidal flooding along the Jersey Shore, and in the absence of global sea-level rise, Hurricane Sandy would have flooded about 38,000 fewer New Jerseyans. A warmer atmosphere is increasing the frequency of intense rainfall events, such as those New Jersey experienced during Hurricanes Floyd and Irene. Heat waves are becoming more intense and frequent, causing deleterious impacts on human health.

The only way to stabilize the global climate is to bring net human-caused carbon dioxide emissions to zero – meaning every amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere must be balanced by the deliberate removal of an equal amount – and to reduce sharply emissions of other greenhouse gases. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, achieving the Paris Climate Agreement’s most ambitious goal, that of limiting warming to 1.5°C, requires global net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by about 2050. And yet even 1.5°C of warming leaves significant residual risk to which individuals, businesses, universities, governments – and, indeed, all of society – must adapt.

It is in the context of these challenges that President Barchi established Rutgers’ President’s Task Force on Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience. The purpose of this Task Force is to develop Rutgers’ strategies for contributing to achieving global net-zero carbon dioxide emissions (‘carbon neutrality’) and for enhancing the capacity of the university and the State of New Jersey to manage the risks of a changing climate (‘climate resilience’).

The purpose of the town halls is to include the Rutgers University Community in this process, and to provide an open forum to share ideas to the Task Force on how to best achieve these goals. All members of the Rutgers Community are welcomed to attend these town halls to contribute to the discussion and to learn more about the strategies being developed by the Task Force.

Event Parking

If you’re a visitor to the University and do not have a parking pass of any kind, you must register your vehicle using the link below. Visitors are permitted to park in Deck 3 (180 Washington St.). There is a fee of $7.50 (plus tax) for parking in the deck.  Special event parking and special event permits are only for visitors to the University which does not include free metered parking. Faculty, Staff, and Students must park only in lots they are authorized to park in. If you have a question regarding a special event, please email it to Event_parking@ipo.rutgers.edu to ensure a timely response. If you wish to follow up with a phone call, please contact special events at (848) 932-7744.

Visitor Parking Registration