Episode 84: Wins and Co-benefits from Climate Work
A 1 to 1 Conversation about climate resilience, transit, sustainability and the intersection of all of the above, with Julie Eaton Ernst, Climate Resilience Practice Leader at HNTB, and Dr. Cris Liban, Chief Sustainability Officer at LA Metro.
Topics: Technology, Mpact:VOICES, Bus Stops, Climate, Funding, Policy, Social Justice, Sustainability, Transit Riders
Tags: Cris Liban, Julie Eaton Ernst, LA Metro, HNTB
Unedited Transcript-Mpact Podcast Episode 84: Wins and Co-benefits from Climate Work
This 1-1 Conversation podcast, featuring two practitioners with extensive experience working on climate mitigation and resilience, conveys the wins within the field over the past decades, the rising focus on the unintended consequences of clean tech, and the importance of always focusing on the people who are most affected by climate change.
Julie Eaton Ernst, Climate Resilience Practice Leader at HNTB, came to this work while in college, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Dr. Cris Liban, Chief Sustainability Officer at LA Metro, started out his career as a geologist, hoping to discover the next big oil field for his native country, The Philippines. Liban describes his pivot to environmental sciences and the trailblazing journey at LA Metro from 2007, when the transit agency board gave him 32 mandates and no funding, to today, with more than 180 strategies and a program of revenue and reinvestment in climate solutions.
Liban touches on the key messages from the transportation chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment, including co-benefits of climate work and an expanding focus on unintended consequences. He and Ernst talk about the invisible scourge of heat and innovative ways LA Metro is involving community members in finding solutions, including collaborative design of bus stops with Camp Pando.
The approach to climate has changed – thanks in part to people like Liban who have helped define terms and develop strategies. For those developing new programs, he emphasizes the importance of wins – even small ones – to build momentum but then also the necessity of funding and reinvestment strategies to actually get things done.
Featured Guests
Julie Eaton Ernst, PE, Climate Resilience Practice Leader, HNTB
Julie Eaton Ernst is HNTB’s Climate Resilience Practice Leader based out of Boston, MA. She is a licensed professional civil engineer (MA #54968), and her background in geotechnical and dam safety engineering and more than 10 years of experience in industry underpins her specialized ability to navigate the uncertainty associated with climate change and complex systems to identify cost-effective and equitable solutions that can adapt over time.
Julie actively supports public sector clients, including state DOTs and transit and rail agencies, across the United States with implementing resilience programs and policies and delivering resilient solutions. Prior to joining HNTB, Julie led multiple award-winning projects that have set standards for resilient transportation planning and design, including the Resilient Massachusetts Action Team (RMAT) Statewide Climate Resilience Design Standards Tool and Boston’s Climate Resilience Design Guidelines for protecting rights-of-way.
Julie serves as chair of Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC)’s Climate Change and Air Committee and on the External Advisory Board of the Sustainable Solutions Lab at UMass Boston. She is a published subject matter expert, including writing “Case Study 3 – From Molasses to Sea Level Rise: Boston’s North End” in Climate Change and the Built Environment, published by American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) in 2022. She has been nationally recognized for her contributions to the industry, including being a recipient of the 2022 Young Professional of the Year Award from ACEC Nationals and the 2018 Ascending Leader Award from EBC. Her unique education, with bachelors degrees in both Political Science (University of Rochester) and Civil and Environmental Engineering (UMass Lowell), and a masters degree in Civil Engineering, focused in Geotechnical Engineering (UMass Lowell), helps her effectively navigate the intersection of policy and engineered solutions. Julie is a multi-modal commuter and takes public transit regularly, and bikes when the weather permits!
Dr. Cris B. Liban, P.E., ENV SP,
Cris Liban has worked at LA Metro since 2003, growing his agency’s environmental and sustainability practice into one of the most progressive and forward-looking in the country. He has implemented over 150 sustainability initiatives to date, and he is working to ensure that $140 billion in capital projects programmed for the next 40 years are sustainable, climate-adapted, and resilient for the 10+ million people of Los Angeles County.
Liban holds degrees in geology, civil engineering, and environmental science and engineering (Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering, UCLA). He holds political appointments as the President of the City of Los Angeles Board of Transportation Commissioners and as a member of the State of California Green Bonds Development Committee. He was previously a member of the USEPA’s National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, California Climate Safe Infrastructure Working Group, and Chair of the Los Angeles County Beach Commission. He was also the Chapter Lead of the Transportation Chapter of recently published Fifth National Climate Assessment.
He conceptualized and co-led the formation of the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure in 2019, which has become a global coalition of almost 200,000 engineers and more than 10,000 cities worldwide.
Liban’s global advocacy and philanthropic involvements are focused on: BIPOC, women and youth empowerment, social entrepreneurship, and advancement of the engineering and scientific professions, especially in underserved communities.