Local Governments’ Role and Response to Climate Change

Climate Science in the Public Interest

Lara Whitely BinderClimate Impacts Group

University of Washington

October 8, 2008OR Coastal Planners Fall Network Meeting

Dealing with Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation

Mitigation activities

Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases

Adaptation activities

Managing the change that occurs as mitigation strategies are implemented.

Why Adaptive Planning?

• Significant climate change impacts are projected, and the impacts expected within the next few decades are largely unavoidable.

• Decisions with long-term impacts are being made every day. Today’s choices will shape tomorrow’s vulnerabilities.

• Significant time is required to motivate and develop adaptive capacity, and to implement changes.

• Proactive planning is often more effective and less costly than reactive planning.

• Proactive planning can provide benefits today.

Projected Increases in PNW Temp

Changes relative to

1970-1999

7.2°F

3.6°F

0°F

10.8°F

14.4°F

+2.2ºF (1.1-3.4ºF)

+3.5ºF (1.6-5.2ºF)

+5.9ºF (2.8-9.7ºF)

°C

• Rate of change expected to be 3x greater• Warming expected in all seasons, greatest in summer• Rate of change expected to be 3x greater• Warming expected in all seasons, greatest in summer

Why adaptive planning cont’d?

• Significant climate change impacts are projected, and the impacts expected within the next few decades are largely unavoidable.

• Decisions with long-term impacts are being made every day. Today’s choices will shape tomorrow’s vulnerabilities.

• Significant time is required to motivate and develop adaptive capacity, and to implement changes.

• Proactive planning is often more effective and less costly than reactive planning.

• Proactive planning can provide benefits today.

• Significant climate change impacts are projected, and the impacts expected within the next few decades are largely unavoidable.

• Decisions with long-term impacts are being made every day. Today’s choices will shape tomorrow’s vulnerabilities.

• Significant time is required to motivate and develop adaptive capacity, and to implement changes.

• Proactive planning is often more effective and less costly than reactive planning.

• Proactive planning can provide benefits today.

Why adaptive planning cont’d?

• Significant climate change impacts are projected, and the impacts expected within the next few decades are largely unavoidable.

• Decisions with long-term impacts are being made every day. Today’s choices will shape tomorrow’s vulnerabilities.

• Significant time is required to motivate and develop adaptive capacity, and to implement changes.

• Proactive planning is often more effective and less costly than reactive planning.

• Proactive planning can provide benefits today.

Why adaptive planning cont’d?

• Significant climate change impacts are projected, and the impacts expected within the next few decades are largely unavoidable.

• Decisions with long-term impacts are being made every day. Today’s choices will shape tomorrow’s vulnerabilities.

• Significant time is required to motivate and develop adaptive capacity, and to implement changes.

• Proactive planning is often more effective and less costly than reactive planning.

• Proactive planning can provide benefits today.

Why adaptive planning cont’d?

So What’s the Problem?Common Barriers

1. Denial/Disbelief. Climate change is not occurring.

2. The “so what?” problem of scale. Mis-interpretation of the magnitude of the change (it’s only a couple of degrees…)

3. The “perfect information” problem. There is too much uncertainty to take action; I’ll wait for better information.

4. Issue fatigue. I have to deal with X,Y, and Z yesterday, and you want me to do this too?

5. The “after I’ve retired” problem. The long-term nature of the problem is beyond the time horizon for many decision makers.

Common Barriers (cont’d)

6. “In my back yard” syndrome. The decision makers want to know how climate change will affect their specific domain, which may not be possible given data and/or modeling limitations.

7. “My hands are tied” problems:– Lack of internal and/or external support for acting on climate change.– Regulatory restrictions prohibiting the use of new information on climate

change– Lack of staff/fiscal/technical resources for planning

8. Difficulties dealing with probabilistic information. How do you start basing multi-million dollar decisions on probabilities with relatively large uncertainties?

9. The risk taking problem. You don’t get punished for following existing guidelines.

How Do We Get Past These Barriers?

• Invest in outreach, education, and training– For internal and external audiences

• Build internal capacity for accessing or producing climate change information at a variety of levels – Improved connections to research communities– Improved access to climate information (data, publications,

external technical expertise)– Modeling capabilities that integrate climate change– Data collection related to climate concerns

How do we get past, cont’d

• Reframe the issue– Climate change will exacerbate many existing high-priority

management concerns, thereby warranting consideration. – Uncertainty is an inherent part of decision making; climate

change uncertainty fundamentally no different than other uncertainties

– Planning for climate change is necessary for meeting the community’s responsibilities at all levels

• Build partnerships– Develop partnerships with neighboring communities, other

stakeholders, etc. for the purpose of cost-sharing

• Leverage the experience of others– Look for examples of where other communities are integrating

climate information into planning as a means for demonstrating the “doability” of the task

• Change the authorizing environment– Where possible, change best practices, policies, rules, and

regulations to incorporate climate change.

• Where possible, additional resources– E.g., for training current staff, new hires with expertise in the

area of climate or related technical needs, needed research, development and monitoring of pilot projects

How do we get past, cont’d

“climate proof”

What is the goal of adaptive planning?

To become a more “climate resilient” community

What does this mean?

Taking proactive steps to reduce the risks associated with climate change for your community (e.g., incorporated, unincorporated, tribal lands, etc.) and important ecosystems.

Developing a climate adaptation plan (or strategy) is a means of reaching this goal.

The Goal of Adaptive Planning

• There is no single prescribed way for adaptive planning, although the major milestones will be similar.

• Become familiar with the concepts but adjust the “recipe” to meet your specific needs.

• While the discussion is most often oriented to the problems of climate change, look for the opportunities as well

Additional Key Points

(d) Determine priorities for planning (vulnerability assessment)

(b) Make the commitment to prepare for climate change

(a) Information gathering – how will climate change affect my community/region? (an ongoing part of the process)

(c) Assemble your planning “team” and bring them up to speed

(e) Develop and implement your adaptation “plan”

(f) Periodically revisit your adaptation plan for needed adjustments – how has the science, your community changed?

• Zoning rules and regulations • Taxation (including tax incentives)• Building codes/design standards• Utility rates/fee setting• Public safety rules and regulations• Issuance of bonds • Infrastructure development• Permitting and enforcement • Best management practices• Outreach and education• Emergency management powers• Partnership building with other communities

General Implementation Tools

Dealing with Uncertainty

• We rarely have perfect information. Uncertainty is everywhere.– Should I buy earthquake insurance?– Should I change jobs?– How much will I need to save for retirement?

• Somehow we manage…– Identify options, – Build theories, – Evaluate risk, – Learn from experience,– Rely on experts/peers

Thanks to Tom Pagano, USDA NRCS, for much of this slide

At its core, planning for climate change is about risk management

•How might climate change affect my community?•What are the consequences of those impacts?•What steps can be taken to reduce the consequences?

• “No regrets” strategiesProvides benefits now with or without climate change

• “Low regrets” strategiesProvide climate change benefits for

little additional cost or risk

• “Win-win” or “Co-benefit” strategiesReduce climate change impacts while providing other environmental, social,

or economic benefits

Look to implement

Planning for Uncertainty

King County, WA

• Replacing 57+ “short span” bridges with wider spans

• Replacing undersized culverts

• Incorporating low impact development techniques to reduce stormwater runoff

• Revamping county levee system

• Bringing water reuse plant online

• Evaluating impacts of sea level rise on wastewater infrastructure

City of Olympia, WA

$150,000 allocated to start on climate change adaptation strategy

• Installing 2 GPS station downtown to better assess subsidence and uplift in the downtown area

• Implementing Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology to improve topographical elevation information (over aerial photography) for more accurate hydrologic modeling and vulnerability analysis

• A hydraulic computer model will be developed to better evaluate the interactions between stormwater and streamflow

City of Olympia, WA cont’d

• Relocating primary water supply from surface water source to higher elevation groundwater source.

• Developing a 3-10 year work plan to implement longer-term adaptation actions such as changes in building codes, FEMA flood hazard zone, and utility infrastructure.

• Partnership building

• 2009-2010 activities include:– Evaluating current high tides and Deschutes River flooding– Assessing potential impacts on drinking water aquifers.

Some Resources…

• PNW: Climate Impacts Group – Data (temp, precip, streamflow) – Adaptation planning guidebook (2007);

case study database under development– Technical guidance/research partnerships

• OR: Climate Change Research Institute– Will shape research on climate change in

OR – Will assist local governments with

adaptation planning– Database of climate change researchers

being developed

More information on PNW climate impacts and planning for climate change is available from

The Climate Impacts Groupwww.cses.washington.edu/cig

Lara Whitely Binderlwb123@u.washington.edu