National / Federal

Between 1980-2019, the U.S. endured 250 climate and weather disasters that each cost more than $1 billion, resulting in a total cost exceeding $1.7 trillion. Climate change contributes to a variety of hazards including extreme precipitation, drought, sea level rise, storm surge, heat waves, and flooding, and this effect will worsen over time. While the onset of natural disasters may be unavoidable, forgoing the opportunity to plan for changing conditions and increasing risks puts citizens in the path of preventable danger.

DOD’s global property holdings are worth nearly $1.2 trillion. Since 2010, DOD has identified climate change as a threat to its operations and installations.

The GAO found that DOD's preliminary assessment of extreme weather and climate change effects at installations relied on past experience rather than an analysis of future vulnerabilities based on climate projections. Also, DOD’s designs for new construction at facilities generally did not consider climate projections, because DOD lacks guidance on how to do so.

Scorched: Extreme Heat and Real Estate outlines how extreme heat will affect the real estate and land use sectors and highlights the leadership and the potential positive impact of the real estate sector in implementing “heat-resilient” building designs and land uses. The report provides an overview of extreme heat’s connections to the built environment and an in-depth discussion of heat mitigation and adaptation strategies related to building design, building materials, green infrastructure and public space design.

TEK is knowledge handed down through generations through traditional stories and beliefs, including the relationship with the natural environment. This webinar is a clipped replay of the 2016 recording. Learn more about the Guidelines for Considering Traditional Knowledges in Climate Change Initiatives and the importance and role of TEK in adaptation planning at local, regional, and national level. This was played through the National Adaptation Forum Webinar Series and was sponsored by EcoAdapt.

To plan successfully, communities need to understand the options for addressing flood-related issues and their associated costs. This guide lays out a six-step watershed-based approach for documenting the costs of flooding, projecting increased flooding and associated costs under future land use and climate conditions, and calculating the long-term benefits and costs of a green infrastructure approach.

There is now widespread agreement among climate scientists that the earth is warming as a result of human activity, primarily due to rising levels of carbon dioxide and other heat trapping atmospheric gases created by burning fossil fuels. It is also clear that current trends in energy use, development, and population growth will lead to continuing — and more severe — climate change over the course of this century and beyond. Climate change is expected to adversely affect the health of all Americans as well.

The following report contains the findings of a survey conducted in two phases in March and May of 2014 among members of the National Medical Association (NMA), the association of African American physicians. The survey was conducted in collaboration with George Mason University. The purpose of the survey was to assess physicians’ experience with the health effects of climate change and their thoughts about how to address this issue. In March, attendees of the 2014 NMA policy conference were asked to complete a paper version of the survey.