In my earlier post on the increasing role of subnationals at future COPs (and hence in the negotiations for a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol), I spotlighted Mayor Bloomberg’s climate change planning push via PlaNYC.

Here’s some more of the back story.

A report by a research group led by Klaus Jacob of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory estimated that after a 100-year storm (e.g. Superstorm Sandy), it could take about three weeks to get the subway system back to 90% capacity. Taking into account all potential damage, the authors warned that “permanent restoration of the system to the full revenue service that was previously available could take more than two years.” The report estimated that the economic losses, due to the failure of infrastructure systems in the entire New York metropolitan region, could range from $48 billion to $68 billion. It offered suggestions for redesigning and shoring up vulnerable infrastructure in New York and concluded that for every one dollar spent today, four dollars in subsequent costs could be saved.

More fuel for my hunch that Mayor Bloomberg’s new consulting firm will not just play a benchwarmer role at the ADP’s meetings in 2014.