In November, the United States issued its Fifth Assessment on Climate Change. You may have missed it. It’s a “congressionally approved interagency effort” issued every five years. I’m not exactly sure why we need a series of U.S.-based assessments on climate change when we have the periodic reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
But this one actually has some promising ideas.
The New York Times’ discussion makes the new report seem like a rehash of the usual alarmist fears. And the Daily Caller points out that among the many writers are “more than two dozen” representatives of environmental advocacy organizations.
But buried in the report are some adaptation strategies as well as the usual mitigation proposals (i.e,. cutting emissions). At least some of the adaptation recommendations would be beneficial whether we ever get terribly hot or not.
So, here are some recommendations from the Assessment (direct quotes), with the links provided by the assessment itself:
- Implementing nature-based solutions—such as restoring coastal wetlands or oyster reefs—to reduce shoreline erosion {8.3, 9.3, 21.2, 23.5}
- Upgrading stormwater infrastructure to account for heavier rainfall {4.2}
- Applying innovative agricultural practices to manage increasing drought risk {11.1, 22.4, 25.5}
- Assessing climate risks to roads and public transit {13.1} [Link is broken, but this is not an adaptation strategy, anyway.]
- Managing vegetation to reduce wildfire risk {5.3}
- Developing urban heat plans to reduce health risks from extreme heat {12.3, 21.1, 28.4}
- Planning relocation from high-risk coastal areas {9.3}
Yes, these actions are couched in alarmist language, but reducing risk of wildfire, say, and reducing shoreline erosion are legitimate actions that may help now. Unfortunately, they also open the door to more federal funding.
Photo by Intricate Explorer on Unsplash.