iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Mayor Eric Adams of New York City had announced his administration’s climate leadership team and changes to the City’s executive agencies that handle environmental justice, on Wednesday, February 2.
Among his appointees, Adams has named an Indian American climate expert, Rohit T. Aggarwala as the chief climate officer and Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP.
Aggarwala, who is a recognized expert on urban sustainability, technology, and mobility, holds his PhD, MBA and Bachelors from Columbia University, with a Masters from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Along with Aggarwala, Adams also named, Vincent Sapienza as the chief operations officer of DEP; and Kitty Charles-Guzman as the executive director of the new Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ).
Under the Bloomberg administration, Aggarwala led the establishment of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. He founded the environmental grantmaking program at Bloomberg Philanthropies, and previously served as president of the Board of Directors of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.
Aggarwala also helped found Sidewalk Labs, Google’s urban technology startup. He was a senior urban tech fellow at the Jacobs Cornell-Technion Institute.
As DEP Commissioner and Chief Climate Officer, he will report to Deputy Mayor of Operations Meera Joshi.
“Today’s team combines renowned expertise with deep, personal, lifelong commitment to protecting every New Yorker from the devastating effects of our climate crisis,” said Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi.
“Bringing the full force of their skills and foresight to solidify today’s infrastructure and prepare for tomorrow’s underscores the Adams administration’s deep commitment to making New York City a more livable place today and for generations to come.”
Commissioner Aggarwala stated, “Making progress on climate requires not only good policies but also driving resilience, decarbonization, and environmental justice into daily city operations. I’m excited to shape the city’s climate work on behalf of Mayor Adams and Deputy Mayor Joshi and am honored to lead the 6,000 men and women at DEP who ensure that New York’s drinking water, harbor, and air are safe and clean, and who are our front lines on managing stormwater. I’m especially grateful to Vinny Sapienza for agreeing to stay on at DEP, so I can rely on his deep operational expertise in managing this mission-critical agency.”
During his announcement, Mayor Adams reiterated that the new office will help work on completing the city’s first comprehensive study of environmental justice; see to the ground breaking of a clean energy complex at Wards Island Water Resource Recovery Facility; expand citywide resiliency projects and infrastructure; and help install 100 megawatts of solar on schools, libraries, community centers and other public buildings, among other initiatives.
