Climate Data
Good data is foundational to delivering transformative climate solutions. We preserve and unlock access to climate data, so it is more useful across sectors—strengthening economies, improving public health and disaster preparedness, and fostering innovation.
Our location on Governors Island will leverage New York City’s longstanding status as a global hub of information and ideas to drive climate action and engagement.
Governors Island Environmental Observatory
Working with an international network of research partners and government entities, Governors Island is an ideal location to create a state-of-the-art environmental observatory. This facility will document in real time the connections between energy use, air and water pollution, climate impacts and threats to human health and biodiversity in a dense urban environment. The first equipment was delivered in Summer 2025 and will continue to be built out as we construct our Climate Campus on the island.
AI can empower climate practitioners
To further explore how we might take a more user-centered approach to AI for climate, The Exchange convened a small group of experts who are already exploring ways to bridge the divide between AI development and users across disciplines. At a roundtable discussion in May 2025, we exchanged thoughts on compelling use cases for AI related to climate today, and the barriers keeping practitioners from using AI more effectively.
Climate Impact Data & Community Action
As extreme weather events grow more frequent and intense, communities, businesses, and planners struggle to access and apply data to local resilience efforts. Local efforts exist to bridge data gaps, including efforts among our partners — FloodNet (City College, Brooklyn College, NYU) and the Coastal Equity and Resilience Hub (Georgia Tech). Georgia Tech has developed a project that uses AI to empower coastal communities to prioritize, assess, and select flood interventions. We are exploring a pilot of this model in Georgia and NYC, allowing communities to experiment with flood mitigation strategies, like storm drains, sea walls, elevated buildings, or nature-based solutions, and share approaches across geographies.
Climate Solutions Summit NYC
Against the backdrop of New York Harbor and Manhattan skyline, we hosted a Climate Solutions Summit NYC on Governors Island during Earth Week (April 23–24, 2025). This data-driven convening brought together climate scientists, urban planners, policy analysts, and technology innovators to examine critical climate datasets and metrics essential to enhancing coastal resilience efforts in densely populated waterfront cities like NYC. The summit focused on translating climate vulnerability assessments, sea-level rise projections, and urban heat island data into actionable climate solutions.