Clean Energy & Climate Change
— Adaptation

Climate Change Handbook for Regional Water Planning

This new guide provides a framework for considering climate change in water management planning and was jointly prepared by the EPA, Calif. Department of Water Resources, Resources Legacy Fund, and the Corps of Engineers.

National Information

Adaptation Website
U.S. EPA Policy Statement on Climate-Change Adaptation (PDF) (3 pp, 595K)

Related Regional Water Programs

Adaptation is the way that we minimize damage and loss that could result from climate change by reducing the vulnerability of our natural and human systems.

In some places, governments are already engaged in significant adaptation actions. For example, low-lying islands, like those in Kiribati, have population relocation programs underway, as negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Many governments are now at the planning stage on adaptation strategies, considering climate change impacts for new infrastructure, building higher seawalls, planning for water shortages due to drought, and considering how to react to more rain and snow due to stronger storms.

Even if we are able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many climate change effects will last for years to come. Adaptation is an important part of managing these impacts. The social and economic costs of adaptation to climate change will be substantial, especially in economically disadvantaged areas.

State Adaptation Activities

California's current adaptation strategy outlines a plan for managing a variety of climate change impacts, establishing working groups to review decisions ranging from species protection to wildfire to water supply management.

Temperature Changes in California 1961 - 2099

See larger version

In addition, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission is partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Coastal Services Center to work with Bay Area communities to begin planning for sea level rise. For Example, the Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) project brought community members together with local and state officials, to better understand how sea level rise and other climate change impacts will affect the Bay Area's ecosystems, infrastructure, and economy.

Hawaii's Coastal Zone Management Program is also building a comprehensive approach to climate change adaptation in the state.