Federal agencies today released updated plans to defend their operations against sea-level rise, more severe storms and other effects of climate change and to improve the carbon footprint and sustainability of the work they do and the resources they manage. The White House Council on Environmental Quality released documents today from 38 federal agencies, five years after President Obama signed an executive order directing his administration to improve its climate preparedness and sustainability. During the rollout last year of his second-term Climate Action Plan, Obama said adaptation was as important as the work his agencies were doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or secure international cooperation on climate change. In the meantime, were going to need to get prepared, he said in remarks at Georgetown University. And thats why this plan will also protect critical sectors of our economy and prepare the United States for the impacts of climate change that we cannot avoid. Todays massive document release revises and expands on a first tranche of adaptation plans that agencies unveiled in February 2013 and comes in response to last Novembers executive order requiring agencies to periodically update those plans and consider how their efforts affect state and local entities (Greenwire, Nov. 1, 2013). The newly released documents illustrate that climate change is expected to impact almost every agency in the federal government. The Department of Agriculture says in its updated plan that climate change will affect programs from disaster assistance and crop insurance to support for energy crops as more frequent droughts, insect infestations and other occurrences put pressure on the U.S. agricultural sector. The agency also oversees the Forest Service, which expects acreage affected by forest fires to double by 2050, requiring more funds for wildfire response. The Defense Department in a plan released earlier this month and included in todays submission reiterated that climate change is a threat multiplier that may lead to global instability and increase demands on the U.S. military. It also noted that many of its military installations are in coastal areas vulnerable to sea-level rise and storm events, and that climate change could interfere with training activities. Agencies also outlined actions they plan to take to cope with climate-driven threats. For the Interior Department, those include steps to build a climate literate workforce that understands how to incorporate department-level policies on climate adaptation into day-to-day operations, including updates to training programs for employees and to departmental handbooks and literature. Interiors plan also stated that steps might be needed to better address climate change preparedness in National Environmental Policy Act permitting activities for the lands the department manages. Bruce Stein of the National Wildlife Federation said Interiors adaptation planning stood out from that of other agencies as being particularly strong. The plan really makes clear that they seem committed to integrating adaptation into all aspects of the departments bureaus activities, he said. So I find that encouraging. Interior has integrated its plan formally into its manual of procedures, giving it greater legal heft and ensuring that it will be followed more uniformly than may be the case with other departments, he said. U.S. EPA released not only an updated plan for the agency as a whole, but individual plans for its program offices and 10 regional offices. The agency pledged to update its brownfields and water infrastructure grant programs to ensure that the investments they support will withstand a changing climate. For example, EPA committed to work with states to consider resilience when funding projects under the Clean Water State Revolving Funds. Its regional plans look at projected changes in their areas of operation. Heavier precipitation events in EPAs Region 2, which incorporates New York and New Jersey, will mean more pollutants are swept into the local water system. The regional offices plan states that it will incorporate greater uncertainty into its Clean Water Act permitting processes. More storms would also mean more demand for revolving fund investment. Meanwhile, drought and wildfire in the Great Plains and the Southwest -- served by EPAs Region 8 office -- could cause air quality to worsen. That regions plan calls for cooperation among state, local and tribal authorities to mitigate higher levels of ozone and particulate matter. Climate change may also alter the way EPAs voluntary and regulatory programs for ozone are implemented, according to the Region 8 plan. The agency as a whole is considering an update to its Clean Air Act ozone restrictions. The rules also lay out plans to curb energy use in the nearly half-million buildings and 600,000 vehicles owned by the federal government. Agencies released plans to curb energy, gasoline and water use in their operations, many of which included actions they have already taken. The Department of Energy pointed to the addition of 33 green buildings to its properties; it currently uses 101 that meet federal guidelines for sustainability. It also reduced its vehicle fleet by 8 percent compared with fiscal 2012 levels and completed construction of a wind farm in Amarillo, Texas. This years tranche of plans put more emphasis on the way agency plans affect state and local communities they serve or where they are located. Federal agencies arent just looking at their own lands and assets, but also looking at how programs affect state and local decisionmaking about air and water, said Jessica Grannis, adaptation program manager at the Georgetown Climate Center. She added that the agencies appeared to have taken this responsibility to heart in the plans released today, many of which referenced continued coordination with groups like the presidents State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. Jean Chemnick, E&E reporter Published: Friday, October 31, 2014 doi.gov/greening/sustainability_plan/index.cfm
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 19:52:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015