Climate Adaptation

Rising temperatures from climate change are leading to longer and more intense fire seasons. Warmer and drier conditions are making the environment more susceptible to burning by causing an increase in the evaporation of moisture from soil and vegetation, drying out trees, shrubs, and grasses, and turning leaf litter and fallen branches into kindling. Wildfires can be caused by human activity such as campfires, discarded cigarettes, and electrical equipment, or by natural events like lightning strikes. As wildfires continue to become more frequent and severe, it is important for states to implement different climate adaptation and resilience strategies to protect humans and the environment.

Climate adaptation and resiliency measures are integral in ensuring communities can adjust to the current and projected impacts of climate change. About 87% of Americans report experiencing some kind of extreme weather events including heat waves, floods, droughts, hurricanes, or wildfires. The impacts of these events are tied to high home insurance costs, expensive recoveries, and even displacement. Climate adaptability measures include improving and retrofitting existing infrastructure, creating more green infrastructure, and improving extreme weather strategies.

This briefing book seeks to provide a pool of successful climate and clean energy policies for state legislators to reference as they are looking forward to next sessions.

The ocean is often referred to as the heart of the planet — from generating over half the air we breathe to absorbing excess carbon in the atmosphere, serving as home to millions of species, and providing important resources to coastal and inland communities. But, when precious ocean resources and the surrounding environment are not sustainably managed or decisions are made without intentional input from coastal communities, frontline communities, and Indigenous Communities, negative impacts like ocean acidification, decreased marine biodiversity, coastal erosion, environmental injustices, and sea-level rise can emerge. This briefing book is intended to provide an overview of some of these major ocean topics that state legislators across the country are contending with, using existing policies to illustrate how introducing legislation to remedy one ocean issue can have significant co-benefits across coastal ecosystems.