For the first time, Boston has a chief climate officer

Mayor Michelle Wu is creating a new position for the city of Boston — chief climate officer — and appointing city hall veteran Brian Swett for the role. Swett served as Boston’s chief of environment, energy and open space from 2012 to 2015 and is currently a principal at Arup, a global engineering, design and consulting firm focused on sustainable development.

During his earlier tenure at city hall, Swett developed an ordinance called BERDO that requires building owners to report and reduce greenhouse gas emission from their properties. He also oversaw the creation of a rental re-inspection ordinance, and launched Climate Ready Boston, to help the city prepare for the impacts of climate change.

This time around, Swett says he has three priorities: decarbonizing the building and transportation sectors, transitioning to clean energy, and preparing the city for climate-related flooding and extreme heat. He'll also focus on addressing climate change across city departments.

"We have firm 2030 targets in a lot of different areas that need to be met in order for us to really bend the curve in a positive direction on climate action," Swett said. "And I think the alignment of city, state and federal is phenomenal right now. You know, so if we can't do this in Boston, where else in the country or the world can we?"

The chief climate officer will lead the Environment, Energy and Open Space cabinet, which includes the Environment Department, the Parks and Recreation Department, the Office of Historic Preservation, and the Office of Food Justice. This cabinet is currently overseen by Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, who will be leaving on April 26. Additionally, Swett will work to develop and co-lead a new climate cabinet alongside Boston’s Green New Deal Director, Oliver Sellers-Garcia.

Swett will begin the new job of chief climate officer in mid-June.

Below is a conversation between WBUR's All Things Considered host Lisa Mullins and Swett about what he is focusing on as he enters his new role.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

On the parts of climate change that have his focus:

"We used to say climate change is going to happen to the next generation, and it is all around us right now. And we're feeling it in Boston, as is most of the rest of the world ... I think that we've spent a lot of time on coastal resilience, appropriately, and we obviously had the near miss of [Hurricane] Sandy, back in 2012, which was a wake up call for Boston and cities up and down the East Coast.

"The nearer term issues that are impacting us throughout the city include extreme heat. You know, when we're going through periods of time above 90, 95 degrees, that are lasting multiple days, that are particularly problematic for senior citizens, are particularly problematic for our young, for those without air conditioning, for environmental justice communities.

"And then these [precipitation] events, which we saw over the last year, be it Leominster, be it up in Montpelier, Vermont, and Brooklyn, that are really hard to predict. I think protecting against a hurricane when we have a couple of days' notice is very different than protecting against a massive rain-driven flooding event where we may only have a couple hours to prepare."

On his timeline for addressing current and future climate risks:

"[It's] continuous ... I think one of the important attributes of this role is that we need to move faster and farther than we have thus far. And Boston has continued to be a leader in climate action, but no city in the country or the world is moving fast enough ...

"I've yet to talk to folks that don't feel this is an existential threat to Boston and our way of life. So the question isn't where we need to go together, but how do we get there most effectively? [And] make sure we're doing it in a way where addressing environmental and racial justice is foundational. We have to become a more equitable and just city through our climate action, but be able to become decarbonized and climate resilient for the benefit of everyone."

On managing Boston's clean energy efforts when state and federal policies govern the grid:

"One of the strategies around decarbonization in our building stock — and buildings in Boston are responsible for about 70% of our emissions — is electrifying wherever it makes sense to electrify. So to get off of fossil fuels. That inherently creates more demand for electricity on our grid. And at the moment, you know, the peak demand is not available for all of Boston's buildings to decarbonize.

"So we need to increase multiple substations within the urban core and multiple substations in the neighborhoods of Boston to be able to enable residential and commercial buildings to electrify ...

"This is multi-decade long, but has to begin now. And I've never been more excited about the city, state and federal alignment that I am today ... this grid modernization, to be clear, is not a unique challenge to Boston. So I think the opportunity is in front of us. I think all levels of government are recognizing the challenge."

On dealing with development in areas that are vulnerable to flooding:

"When the Seaport in particular was redeveloped, climate resilience policies and using forward looking environmental conditions was not the norm at any level of government for planning processes. And the challenge we have now is how do we protect downtown developments and future developments? There is now a flood resilience overlay district in all of the city setting how high buildings and entrances need to be in areas where we expect to see sea-level rise impacts over the coming decades.

"It means that we're designing buildings for a significant portion of their useful life. I think we will have better science as we continue. So that is a floor, right? Not a ceiling in terms of you know, what design expectations are. And secondly, for existing buildings in those districts, it helps define what success looks like."