NEW YORK, NY — A new report released today by the Regional Plan Association (RPA) in honor of Earth Day, analyzes over 50 recent climate adaptation plans from municipalities, states, and tribal governments from across the U.S. to review where the nation stands in responding to the impacts of climate change.
The report, The State of Climate Adaptation Planning Today, is a first-of-its-kind consolidation of what information is already available; the report is novel in its comprehensiveness and its national scope. Of the 54 plans reviewed, the report authors identified over 2,000 distinct adaptation strategies falling into five categories: natural and nature-based responses, engineered solutions, retreat and relocation strategies, extreme heat responses, and equity.
“With this report, we’re getting a pulse check on where we stand with our readiness to tackle climate change, both on a local and national level,” said Sharon Sabu Mathews, Resilience Intern for RPA and an author on the report. “By taking stock of planned adaptation efforts from across the country, we hope this report will highlight opportunities for regional collaboration on adaptation efforts and lessons for the tri-state region.”
A majority of solutions identified in adaptation plans are natural or nature-based solutions, with 808 of the over 2,000 solutions suggesting ecological restoration methods such as maintaining wetlands; green infrastructure, such as rain gardens; and forest management, such as protecting urban and wild forests.
“Adaptation is a constantly evolving process, and this report reflects the changing nature of how we respond to climate impacts,” said Rob Freudenberg, Vice President of Energy and Environment at RPA and an author of the study. “Perhaps 10 years ago, our findings would have reflected more conversations about sea walls and other gray infrastructure practices; now, nature-based solutions are at the forefront and integrated with more traditional approaches. We’re meeting evolving challenges with new solutions, not just the same old responses.”
Other key findings from the report include:
While extreme heat is a climate risk of great concern to adaptation planners, only 17 percent of adaptation strategies emphasize the importance of mitigating extreme heat. Heat is one of the biggest weather-related causes of death, and increasingly extreme heat will continue to worsen drought and wildfires.
Climate adaptation and building equity go hand in hand — by investing in adaptation, economic resilience stands to improve for everyone, including those most affected by climate change.
Adaptation plans from indigenous tribes and Native American communities include adaptation practices focused on kincentric ecology, viewing human beings as equal parts of a holistic ecosystem as other species. Integrating this approach into adaptation plans in other communities could promote a holistic perspective of adaptation planning that connects ecological wellbeing with human wellbeing.
Community engagement in the adaptation planning process can not just be used to inform or consult with communities, but also to co-create adaptation visions and plans with them.
“It’s important to note that this study is an overview of planning efforts, not action,” said Ellis Calvin, Data Research Manager for RPA and an author of the report. “Not only is this a sampling of plans across the country, but it is also a way to identify gaps and limitations in current plans to better inform communities as they begin their own adaptation processes.”
This report builds on a joint analysis of resilience indicators by EDF and RPA, resulting in the report, Measuring Resilience, which was built on a joint effort with Rebuild by Design that mapped community resilience plans in New York City.
“The field of adapting to climate change is still relatively new and incredibly complicated,” said Kate Boicourt, Director, Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds, Environmental Defense Fund. “RPA does an excellent job of breaking down how regions across the country are taking on this complexity, from what solutions they are focused on to evaluating differences between prioritization and action and identifying case studies of best practices. This report is a great resource for adaptation planners, governments, and communities as they seek to develop plans to address climate impacts.”
“This is a tremendous resource for our country,” said Amy Chester, Director of Rebuild by Design, “Having an understanding of how communities are approaching these challenges informs us of the work left to be done.”
“The RPA report highlights both the need for urgent action and strategies for effective action. Resilience networks, like 100 Resilient Cities, provide useful resources for understanding different communities and local ecosystems across a wide geography,” said Susannah Drake, Principal Sasaki, Professor the Cooper Union and contributor to the RPA 4th Regional Plan. “It is thrilling to see how nature-based strategies are becoming mainstream adaptation practice in different regions across the United States. Taking inspiration from indigenous tribes’ focus on kincentric ecology, the RPA report suggests how equity and resilience are embedded in ecology and can guide meaningful development of retreat and relocation strategies.“
“This report is critical for establishing a baseline and its attenuators enabling us to understand where we are and consider where we need to go,” said David Erdman, Founding Director of the Center for Climate Adaptation at Pratt Institute. “Including trends such as the prevalence of nature-based systems, parsing approaches into five types, and highlighting specific programs of merit across the nation, the study gives us an invaluable snapshot and tool kit for heightening our collective awareness and better coordinating future/ongoing adaptation efforts, commitments and actions.”
“RPA’s new report, The State of Climate Adaptation Planning Today, does an exceptional job of pulling together trends and strategies for community engagement, funding, and infrastructure for climate resilience and adaptation planning across the nation,” said Cortney Koenig Worrall, President and CEO, Waterfront Alliance. “It’s clear from this report that many plans exist, but greater integration and synergy between “green and gray” infrastructure solutions is needed. RPA’s research and analysis helps strengthen the case for rapid growth and advocacy for climate resilience. We look forward to working with RPA and our Alliance partners to progress on our shared mission for a more resilient and equitable future.”
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About Regional Plan Association
Regional Plan Association (RPA) is an independent non-profit organization that conducts research, planning and advocacy to expand economic opportunity, environmental resiliency, improved health, and better quality of life in the New York metropolitan area. Since the 1920s, RPA has produced four landmark plans for the region. The most recent was released in November 2017. For more information, please visit www.rpa.org.
