Sam Jung (EDC) on climate context and GEEP overview with 400K projection
Sam Jung, SVP of the Green Economy Team at EDC, introduces himself and Michelle Lamberti. He frames the green economy as a climate imperative and pathway to economic justice under Mayor Mamdani, citing extreme weather impacts on the city. He describes the GEEP as a roadmap projecting 400,000 green jobs by 2040 across construction, engineering, clean energy, and other sectors.
Good afternoon, Chair Maloney and Chair Wan, and members of the Economic Development and Workforce Development Committees.
My name is Sam Jung, and I serve as the Senior Vice President of the Green Economy Team at the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
I'm here today with Michelle Lamberti, Vice President of Government and Community Relations.
I'm excited to share the progress we've made on the Green Economy Action Plan, or GEEP for short, which was released in spring of 2024 in partnership with New York City Talent.
At EDC, we think in terms of decades and generational change.
Under Mayor Mumdani and Deputy Mayor Su's leadership, EDC is approaching the green economy not only as a climate imperative, but as a pathway to economic justice, delivering good-paying jobs and expanding opportunity for working people.
New York City is surrounded by 520 miles of water and shoreline, with the risk of rising seawater on our doorstep.
We have seen a hurricane leave our city dark and underwater.
Heavy rain and flooding have disrupted our transportation and infrastructure.
Urban wildfires have stained our skyline red and filled our air with ashes.
And extreme weather has driven up power bills and insurance costs for working people.
We cannot treat climate change as something we can put off until tomorrow.
It requires...
action today.
The Green Economy Action Plan provides a roadmap to tackle these challenges and invest in the sectors and jobs that will help the city combat climate change while providing a pathway to stronger communities and shared prosperity.
The opportunity ahead is significant.
The Jeep projected that the green economy could transition and create approximately 400,000 jobs by 2040.
Jobs across construction, engineering, clean energy, building retrofits, advanced manufacturing, design, operations, maintenance, and emerging industries.
Sorry, could you put the mic closer to your mouth?
Thank you.