Society and Economy Chapter Summary
New York State is an economic and cultural hub, encompassing a wide range of industries, communities, state and local governments, businesses, schools, museums, and other institutions—each of which is vital to helping those who live and work in the state to thrive. New York is one of the most diverse states demographically in terms of race, ethnicity, and place of origin. Its economy is the third largest of all states in the nation and employs 11.5 million people. Education plays a critical role in every community: there are thousands of public, private, and charter K–12 schools across the state, as well as more than 926,000 students enrolled in the state’s colleges and universities. Arts, culture, and historic preservation institutions contribute to the state’s cultural heritage.
This summary provides an overview of climate change impacts on New York State’s society and economy. It includes a synopsis of key climate change hazards, equity and justice considerations, impacts on Indigenous Peoples and Tribal Nations, key findings from the assessment’s Society and Economy chapter, and opportunities for the future.
Climate Change Hazards and Impacts on New York State’s Society and Economy
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New York State’s society and economy is multi-faceted and includes a range of populations, industries, educational and cultural institutions, and local governments. As a result, nearly all climate change hazards affecting the state will affect some aspect of this sector. Communities, businesses, local governments, and workers will experience varying impacts from climate hazards such as:
- Worsening inland and coastal flooding.
- Rising temperatures and humidity.
- More frequent and intense extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, heat waves, strong winds, wildfires, and extreme snowfall.
- Fluctuating water levels in the Great Lakes.
- Shorter snow seasons and more variability in winter temperatures.
These climate hazards can have impacts on the state’s society and economy, including:
- Impacts on population groups and communities, such as population displacement caused by sea level rise.
- Impacts on the economy, such as direct impacts on the outdoor tourism and natural resource sectors (for example, reduced winter recreation activities from changes in snowfall, fewer recreational and commercial fishing opportunities from warming waters) and indirect impacts on other sectors (such as supply chain disruptions when extreme weather events halt operations and shipping, and increased business risks to the finance and insurance sectors).
- Impacts on education, such as damage to school buildings from flooding and hurricanes and closure of schools during extreme weather events.
- Impacts on arts and culture, such as flood damage to cultural institutions and historic sites near waterways and power outages and rapid changes in humidity and temperature that can harm museum collections.
- Impacts on government and civil society, such as increased resources spent on climate planning and disaster response, disruptions to regular government services during extreme events, an increase in fraud following extreme weather events (for example, insurance fraud and misuse of recovery funds), and reduced tax revenue from properties affected by sea level rise.
Climate Equity and Justice
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Everyone deserves to live, learn, work, and play in a safe and healthy environment, even as the climate changes. That is climate equity. However, some groups are more exposed to climate change hazards, are more at risk of harm, or have fewer resources to recover and adapt. This is often the case among historically underserved and underrepresented groups of people. Working to help these groups adapt to climate impacts is a form of climate justice.
Existing social and economic inequities make some groups more at risk from the impacts of climate change. Multiple factors influence people’s vulnerability to social and economic impacts, including income status, race or ethnicity, age, gender or sexual identity, and English proficiency. For example, households below the poverty line and other low- to moderate-income households might have limited financial capacity to prepare for and respond to extreme weather events.
Small businesses, particularly those that are minority-owned, are also more at risk from extreme weather events. They may have fewer cash reserves and more difficulty obtaining rebuilding loans. Small businesses and minority-owned businesses often lack relationships with mainstream banks and may not have commercial leases or sub-leases. Following disasters, small and minority-owned businesses are less likely to re-open than larger businesses.
Some types of workers are more exposed to climate change hazards and their impacts. Outdoor workers, including bike delivery workers, construction and utility service workers, agricultural workers, and emergency responders, are more exposed to extreme weather. Service and retail jobs often require an in-person presence, so—unlike workers in information and knowledge sectors—many service workers cannot work remotely during extreme weather. For example, when businesses shut down following Superstorm Sandy, many hourly service workers went unpaid.
Indigenous Peoples and Tribal Nations
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There are eight federally recognized Tribal Nations and one state-recognized Nation in New York State, as well as several other Indigenous communities that maintain ties to the state and live in surrounding states. The colonization and dispossession of Tribal lands, as well as forced migration to lower-quality lands, have contributed to the climate risks Indigenous Peoples face.
These Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples play a vital role in the economy, culture, and society of New York State. For example, Oneida Nation Enterprises is one of the largest employers in Madison and Oneida Counties: it has with more than 4000 employees, contributing more than $300 million to the economies of these counties. The climate impacts to Indigenous communities are discussed further in the Key Findings section below.
Climate Change and New York State’s Society and Economy Sector: Technical Workgroup Key Findings
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Technical workgroups for each of the assessment’s eight sectors developed key findings focused on climate change impacts, responses, and solutions. More detail on the key findings for the society and economy sector, and the evidence base for each finding, can be found in the full Society and Economy chapter.
Climate change is already affecting and will increasingly affect nearly every dimension of New York State’s economy.
“Economic sectors” are groupings of related businesses or industries. Climate hazards will directly or indirectly affect nearly all economic sectors in the state, from natural resource–based industries to manufacturing, retail, and financial services. Sectors that depend on climate and weather, such as outdoor recreation and tourism, might experience direct impacts as temperature and precipitation patterns change and extreme weather events become more frequent. For example, less snowfall and a shrinking winter season could reduce opportunities for skiing, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing, which support local tourism in the Adirondacks, Catskills, Central/Finger Lakes, and Great Lakes.
Other economic sectors, including manufacturing, wholesale, retail, insurance, and finance, might experience the impacts of climate change indirectly through disruptions to energy, transportation, and supply chains. For example, manufacturers that rely on global supply chains for imported parts might need to halt production when climate hazards disrupt overseas plants and international shipping. These sectors also potentially face increasing climate-related damage to investment properties and businesses.
What Can We Do?
To benefit all those who live and work in New York State, climate solutions will need to consider people and groups who will be disproportionately burdened by economic disruption. These include small businesses; small, rural municipalities and cultural institutions that have fewer financial resources; frontline workers, such as service workers; and essential public servants including police, firefighters, and teachers. Workforce development and business preparedness programs can help these groups prepare for emergencies and increase resilience of their operations, assets, and physical spaces. Many New York State–based financial institutions are incorporating climate change into their financial risk assessments. In addition, outdoor tourism–dependent regions are offsetting losses to winter recreation opportunities by fostering and promoting opportunities for warm-weather activities such as bicycling (see the case study, Four-Season Tourism as an Economic Adaptation: The Adirondacks as a New Cycling Destination).
New York State’s older residents are more vulnerable and less able to adapt to heat, flooding, and other climate hazards.
The state’s population is aging, especially in regions outside New York City, and older adults are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Statewide, about 3.6 million people, or 18.1% of the population, are 65 or older—higher than the national average of 17.3%. By 2040, residents over age 65 are expected to make up 22% of the state’s population.
Older residents have health, mobility, and financial vulnerabilities that put them at greater risk from climate hazards. Aging brings a decline in the body’s ability to regulate its temperature declines. Because they have less tolerance for extreme heat, older adults are more at risk of health impacts during heat waves. Physical mobility challenges can make it difficult or impossible to evacuate during extreme weather events, such as storms or floods. Older people who are lower-income or living on a fixed income might already experience housing, energy, food, and healthcare insecurities, all of which climate change can amplify.
What Can We Do?
Addressing the unique vulnerabilities of older residents will require attention to emergency preparedness and disaster relief planning. Communities with growing shares of older residents, like many of New York State’s rural areas, can implement early warning systems and storm preparation plans that support older residents.
Climate change vulnerabilities intersect with and are exacerbated by underlying and systemic social/economic stressors and fragilities.
Existing inequities often make people more vulnerable to climate change. For example, low-income people in New York State—especially those who are Indigenous, people of color, immigrants, unhoused, or living in rural areas—are more vulnerable to climate change because of existing forms of marginalization. These include legacies of displacement, racial and ethnic discrimination, limited access to resources, and higher exposure to environmental pollutants.
Climate-related vulnerabilities often intersect with existing social and economic stressors rooted in discriminatory policies, which leads to greater levels of risk. Low-income individuals and families have limited housing options and may be more likely to live in flood- or hazard-prone areas. People who are displaced from their homes due to climate hazards, economic pressures, or historical policies can become disconnected from social networks; this makes them even more vulnerable to climate-related harm. Rising housing costs, especially in cities, can make areas unaffordable and create pressure on lower-income residents to move out of an area against their will. In some cases, climate resilience projects can contribute to higher property values and displacement of low-income communities of color.
What Can We Do?
Recognizing and addressing the needs of at-risk populations is a key part of equitable and effective resilience planning. Involving local communities and including principles of environmental justice in all phases of resilience planning can help the state create climate solutions that address underlying vulnerabilities and build equity.
Climate change threatens Indigenous communities in New York State and their natural resource–based cultural heritages and traditions.
Multiple climate hazards threaten Indigenous communities and their traditions, adding to challenges these communities already face as a result of historical displacement. For example:
- Sea level rise could permanently flood coastal heritage sites that are of social, cultural, historical, archaeological, or educational importance to Indigenous Peoples. For example, the Shinnecock Indian Nation has many significant sites across Long Island that are vulnerable to sea level rise.
- Climate change threatens traditional Indigenous livelihood practices, such as shellfish harvesting along the Atlantic coast and ice fishing on the Great Lakes. As the climate changes, increasing oceanwater acidity reduces shellfish growth rates and size, their ability to grow shells, and their overall survival rates. More frequent and intense heavy rainfall events can carry pollutants from surface runoff and stormwater into the ocean, which causes food safety concerns when shellfish capture these pollutants when filter feeding.
- Climate change could result in the loss of natural resources that are central to Indigenous culture and traditions. For example, as the range of species extends farther north with warming temperatures, the invasive emerald ash borer will likely spread and further threaten New York State’s black ash trees. These trees provide wood materials for traditional Indigenous lacrosse sticks, Haudenosaunee basket-making, and other traditional crafts. The natural world is closely linked with many Indigenous practices and the loss of certain species could lead to substantial economic and cultural losses for New York’s Indigenous communities.
What Can We Do?
Indigenous knowledges and cultural traditions are important sources of information about natural hazard risks, climate change exposures, and natural resource management practices. Indigenous knowledges can be incorporated into adaptation and resilience responses. Many Tribal Nations have developed or are developing detailed climate adaptation plans focused on the needs and concerns of their communities and using Indigenous knowledges to protect their valued natural resources and cultural traditions.
Innovative responses to climate change present opportunities to contribute to equitable and just transitions to sustainability.
Each part of New York State’s society and economy can contribute to climate solutions that advance equity and build resilience. Local and state governments, schools and universities, nonprofits, museums and cultural institutions, and the private sector all play vital roles in raising climate change awareness, supporting educational and workforce training efforts, and identifying opportunities for innovation. Each of these will help prepare New York State for a changing climate.
For example, educational initiatives can teach people about how the climate is changing and equip them with the knowledge and skills to recognize and solve climate-related challenges. Cultural institutions like libraries and museums can use their reputations as trustworthy sources of information to educate people about climate change. For workers whose jobs put them at a higher risk of disruption, workforce training programs can also help them transition into more stable positions and take advantage of job opportunities in the growing field of climate resilience.
Centering equity in adaptation and resilience actions is critical for a successful and sustainable climate change response. Partnerships between local government and community-based nonprofits can ensure climate solutions are widely accessible to lower-income New Yorkers, racial and ethnic minorities, immigrant communities, and other vulnerable populations. Numerous state- and community-led adaptation planning programs in the state practice collaborative planning and have local community representatives at the table during all planning phases.
Opportunities for the Society and Economy Sector
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Although climate change presents significant risks to New York State’s society and economy, the work of adapting to the changing climate can produce benefits. Such opportunities exist across sectors, and may include new employment, strengthened partnerships, and opportunities to build equity. Some examples of opportunities are:
- Creating jobs in a green economy. Climate change presents opportunities to create new businesses and jobs focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the changing climate. For example, job opportunities are emerging in the resilience planning, design, and construction fields.
- Opportunities for the finance, insurance, and investment sector. Incorporating climate modeling into financial and investment decision-making will help the state’s large finance and insurance institutions better prepare for climate uncertainty.
- Using state and regional networks of art and historic organizations to foster collaboration and build capacity for adapting to climate change. Many of New York State’s art and historic organizations rely on state and regional networks for information sharing, training, and grant funding. These organizations could expand the use of their networks to help smaller institutions prepare for and adapt to climate change, fostering more collaboration.
- Addressing equity concerns when adapting affordable housing for climate change. Local governments have an opportunity to incorporate equity and justice into their climate resilience plans. They can partner with community-based and nonprofit organizations to support housing affordability and implement adaptation measures in affordable housing for low-income residents.
Emerging Research Topics
Researchers continue to study how climate change affects New York State’s society and economy. It will be important to consider any gaps in knowledge when developing adaptation strategies and plans. This assessment revealed a few areas for further research, such as:
- How middle-income populations are exposed to climate hazards and how much they are able to adapt.
- The role of financial regulators in climate-related financial disclosures and climate financial risk assessments.
- How to prepare for supply chain disruptions associated with future extreme weather events.
- Mapping and assessing how climate impacts on specific economic sectors may extend to other regions.
Conclusions
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Climate change is having significant impacts across New York State’s society and the economy. These impacts overlap and interact with other social, economic, and health stressors affecting communities throughout the state. The changing climate is affecting or will affect nearly every industry, government, school, and cultural institution in New York State.
Public institutions, businesses, nonprofits, and civil society can collaborate on adaptation planning and ways to address the impacts of climate change. Building a more resilient society and economy can help protect the lives of all New Yorkers.
Learn More
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Read the full Society and Economy chapter to learn more about impacts and adaptation strategies.