Resources

Sea level rise, erosion, increased temperatures, and changes in precipitation are among the many climate change impacts expected to affect California’s natural and built environment. In 2009, the California Climate Adaptation Strategy was released.

In October 2010, the U.S. Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force released a series of recommendations to President Obama on how federal agencies could coordinate and collaborate on a national adaptation strategy. The Task Force released two progress reports in 2010 and 2011, and plans to continue to support implementation of the recommendations.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program’s mission is “to build a knowledge base that informs human responses to climate and global change through coordinated and integrated federal programs of research, education, communication, and decision support.” The Program produces assessments of climate change and its implications, participates in the U.S.

Climate change is likely to affect natural and human systems in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County including impacts to agriculture, human health, natural resources, infrastructure, emergency response needs, and tourism.

Graham Island is the most northern of the Queen Charlotte Islands and is located off the North Pacific coast of British Columbia. The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has classified the northeast area of Graham Island as extremely sensitive to sea level rise, and two communities, Masset and Old Masset, are already experiencing flooding and coastal erosion.

Abundant evidence shows that Oregon is already experiencing the effects of climate change. The Oregon Climate Change Adaptation Framework was created to help the state prepare for and respond and adapt to these changes.

The Lower Willamette region is located in northwestern Oregon and is predicted to experience climate changes including increases in temperature, extreme weather events, and reduced snowpack.

The Puerto Rico Coastal Management Program (PRCZMP) is conducting a two-year Coastal Adaptation Project. The goal is to develop a coastal zone vulnerability assessment and appropriate adaptation strategies to help Puerto Rico cope with existing coastal hazards and future climate changes.

The New Zealand-based National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and its partners received four years of funding from the New Zealand Ministry for Science & Innovation to create the necessary information and tools to enable adaptation - by central and local government and communities - to the impacts of climate-induced change on the coastal environment.