Current Climate Change Adaptation Initiatives

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Current Climate Change Adaptation Initiatives

• Carole McCauley, Massachusetts Bays Program
• Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Workshop
• Peabody Institute Library, Danvers
• March 12, 2009

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Whats the problem?

• Sea level rise is just one projected impact in
  New England there are others
• Increased summer drought
• Increased temperatures
• Increased winter precipitation (rain, not snow)
• More frequent periods of intense weather
• Increased allergens and asthma, heat-related
  illnesses
• Coastal flooding
• Shoreline erosion

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But from listening to the news, you would think
we are figuring it out

• Lots of efforts focusing on mitigating against
  climate change
• But even if we were to stop emitting GHGs today,
  scientists predict that some amount of change is
  inevitable
• Bottom line we are locked in to a certain
  amount of warming at a minimum

Source Union of Concerned Scientists
So hadnt we better get ready for at least
theminimum predicted change?
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What do we need to do?

• Mitigation
• avoid the unmanageable
• Adaptation
• manage the unavoidable

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Some challenging thoughts

• How do we deal with all the uncertainty?
• Scenario planning best case, worst case
• Use the precautionary principle
• Do the best with what we have
• How do we know what is the best thing to do?
• Models of success do not yet exist
• Network, share science and experience

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What is needed

• Educate and communicate
• People need to be at the table willingly to plan
  and act
• Determine what the local impacts are likely to be
• Assess vulnerability to the impacts
• Structural, natural, economic, social
• Figure out what is feasible and realistic
• Politically, economically, socially,
  technologically, ecologically
• Set priorities
• Plan
• Monitor, evaluate, and adapt

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Who is doing what so far?

• Federal
• Regional/multi-state
• State
• Academia
• Non-profit

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Federal

• NOAA
• Coastal Services Center (including national
  roll-out of Storm Smart Coasts)
• Centre for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research
• Office of Ocean and Coastal resource Management
• Sea Grant
• Climate Program Office
• National Climactic Data Center
• National Coastal Data Development Center
• Northeast Fisheries Science Center

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Federal (cont.)

• EPA
• Office of Water (including Climate Ready
  Estuaries)
• Office of Research and Development
• Office of Air and Radiation
• Region 1
• USGS
• Waste Science Centers
• Costal and Marine Geology Program
• Science Center for Coastal and Marine Geology,
  Woods Hole

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Federal (cont.)

• FEMA (National Flood Insurance Program)
• USDOT, USACE, HUD, NSF, NASA
• Joint efforts
• US Climate Change Science Program
• US Global Change Research Program
• Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology

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Regional/multi-state

• New England Environmental Finance Center
• Gulf of Maine Council Climate Change Network
• Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System
• Gulf of Maine Research Institute
• New England Governors/Eastern Canadian Premiers
• Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
• New England Interstate Water Pollution Control
  Commission
• USFWS

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State

• Office of Coastal Zone Management
• Coastal Hazards Commission
• Storm Smart Coasts
• Department of Environmental Protection
• Emissions reductions, smart growth, renewable
  energy
• Department of Fish Game
• State Wildlife Action Plan
• Task Force planned by EOEEA
• Coalition coordinated Bentley forum and beyond

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Academia

• Too many to list here, but there are dozens of
  studies, projects, institutes working on climate
  issues at all of the regions universities

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Non-Profit

• Union of Concerned Scientists
• International Council for Local Environmental
  Initiatives (ICLEI)
• Coastal States Organization
• Association of State Wetland Managers
• Adaptation Network
• The Nature Conservancy
• National Wildlife Federation
• And many more

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What is the Mass Bays Program doing?

• Climate Ready Estuaries
• Salt marsh vulnerability assessment
• Integration of climate change into strategic plan
• Communicate and educate
• Network and collaborate
• Develop Climate Advisory Group to set priorities
• Update Comprehensive Conservation and Management
  Plan
• Ultimately provide assistance to communities in
  adaptation planning and implementation

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Thanks for coming!