Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
to assess the vulnerability of infrastructure investments to sea level rise and
identify solutions to reduce risks. And the Administration has continued,
through the U.S. Global Change Research Program, to support science and
monitoring to expand our understanding of climate change and its impacts.
Going forward, the Administration will expand these efforts into three
major, interrelated initiatives to better prepare America for the impacts of
climate change:
I. Building Stronger and Safer Communities and Infrastructure
By necessity, many states, cities, and communities are already planning
and preparing for the impacts of climate change. Hospitals must build capacity
to serve patients during more frequent heat waves, and urban planners must
plan for the severe storms that infrastructure will need to withstand. Promoting
on-the-ground planning and resilient infrastructure will be at the core of our
work to strengthen America's communities. Specific actions will include:
Directing Agencies to Support Climate-Resilient Investment
:
The President
will direct federal agencies to identify and remove barriers to making climate-
resilient investments; identify and remove counterproductive policies that
increase vulnerabilities; and encourage and support smarter, more resilient
investments, including through agency grants, technical assistance, and other
programs, in sectors from transportation and water management to conservation
and disaster relief. Agencies will also be directed to ensure that climate risk-
management
considerations are fully integrated into federal infrastructure and natural
resource management planning. To begin meeting this challenge, the
Environmental Protection Agency is committing to integrate considerations of
climate change impacts and adaptive measures into major programs, including
its Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds and grants for
brownfields cleanup, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development
is already requiring grant recipients in the Hurricane Sandy-affected region to
take sea-level rise into account.
Establishing a State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate
Preparedness:
To help agencies meet the above directive and to enhance local
efforts to protect communities, the President will establish a short-term task
force of state, local, and tribal officials to advise on key actions the federal
government can take to better support local preparedness and resilience-
building efforts. The task force will provide recommendations on removing
