California Climate Adaptation Strategy Released

Discussion Draft Announcement Triggers 45-Day Public Comment Period

Press Release
California Natural Resources Agency
08/03/2009

Sacramento, Calif. — California's Natural Resources Agency today released a comprehensive plan to guide adaptation to climate change, becoming the first state to develop such a strategy.  The 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy Discussion Draft summarizes the latest science on how climate change could impact the state, and provides recommendations on how to manage against those threats in seven sector areas.  Today’s release sets in motion a 45-day public comment period.

 

“In keeping with the Governor’s effort to fight climate change head on, re-examining the way  we work and making adjustments accordingly is in many ways the most important thing we can do,” said Secretary for Natural Resources Mike Chrisman.  “Of all the difficult challenges that we’ve faced on this planet, environmental or otherwise, the greatest positive influence has happened when people acknowledge the problem, recognize their role in solving that problem and alter their behavior so that the change lasts.  Adapting to climate change is a fundamental example of this principle”

 

Adaptation is a relatively new concept in California climate policy. The term generally refers to response efforts that combat the impacts of climate change – adjustments in natural or human systems to actual or expected climate changes in order to minimize harm or take advantage of opportunities.

 

In addition to Natural Resources, the state agencies involved in developing the draft strategy include Environmental Protection, Business, Transportation and Housing, Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture.  The discussion draft focuses on seven different sectors that include: Public Health; Biodiversity and Habitat; Ocean and Coastal Resources; Water Management; Agriculture; Forestry; and Transportation and Energy Infrastructure.  The strategy is a direct response to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s November 2008 Executive Order S-13-08 that specifically asks to the Natural Resources Agency to identify how state agencies can respond to rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, sea level rise, and extreme natural events. As data continues to be developed and collected, the state’s adaptation strategy will be updated to reflect current findings.
 

Rather than address the detailed impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation needs of every sector, those determined to be at greatest risk are prioritized.
 

Preliminary recommendations include:
 

•           Establish a Climate Adaptation Advisory Panel to further assess California’s climate change risks.
 

•           Consider project alternatives that avoid significant new development in areas prone to flooding, sea-level rise, temperature changes, and precipitation changes.
 

•           To the extent possible, communities should amend general plans and local coastal plans to avoid potential climate impacts.
 

•           Fire fighting agencies should begin immediately to include climate change impact information into fire program planning.
 

•           Major development and infrastructure projects should consider climate change impacts in order to comply with California Environmental Quality Act guidelines.
 

•           Alter water use patterns as climate change will likely shift existing supplies and flows including Delta water supply and water quality.  Improve Delta ecosystem and stabilize water supplies as developed in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
 

 •          Implement strategies to achieve a statewide 20 percent reduction in per capita water use by 2020, expand available state water storage, and implement the Delta Vision Cabinet Group recommendations to improve Delta water supply, water quality, and ecosystem conditions.  Support agricultural water use efficiency.
 

•           Coordinate hazard mitigation plans and assessments for managing increasing fire risk, flood, heat induced mortalities, and other hazards due to climate change.
 

•           The California Department of Public Health will develop guidance for use by local health departments and other agencies to assess mitigation and adaptation strategies, which include impacts on vulnerable populations and communities and assessment of cumulative health impacts.
 

•           Manage public health, infrastructure or habitat, to the extent that these are subject to climate change impacts, from sea level rise, increased temperature, and changing precipitation.  This includes assessments of land use, housing and transportation proposals that could impact health, greenhouse gas emissions, and community resilience for climate change in keeping with SB 375 that addresses creating sustainable communities.
 

•           Identify key California land and aquatic habitats and species from existing research that could be extinct this century due to climate change and develop a plan for expanding existing protected areas or altering water management systems that allow for climate change impacts.
 

•           Work to meet projected population growth and increased energy demand with greater energy conservation.  Renewable energy supplies should be enhanced through the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan to reach a goal of 33 percent of the state’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2020 in ways that protect sensitive habitat.
 

•           Climate change research can and should be used for state planning purposes, and new climate change impact research should be funded and expanded.  By January 2010, a Web-based map and interactive Web site should be developed and regularly updated by the California Energy Commission so as to be useful for local decision-makers.