Policies > Climate Solutions > Section 2
Building Resiliency
A hotter climate has already led to more frequent and intense weather, including flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, heatwaves, and megadroughts. These extreme events threaten critical infrastructure, including power grids, rail systems, roads, and water supplies. Cities and towns, designed for a safer climate, face regular batterings under 100-year storms.
Section 1:
Reducing Emissions
Section 2:
Building Resiliency
Section 3:
Fostering Widespread Support
Section 4:
Leveraging Federal Funding
Uncertainty plagues agriculture in the U.S. and abroad; food shortages and weather disasters could cause the forced migration of 143 million climate refugees by 2050. Frontline communities, already vulnerable from decades of pollution and neglect, stand to bear the worst impacts of dangerous weather.
Cities and states must prepare for climate impacts by instituting forward-thinking, equitable policy. By listening to both science and impacted populations, innovative state and local leaders are creating stronger, more just communities. Following their recommendations will help build a resilient America.
POLICY GOALS
While working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, policymakers must also act with urgency to prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Leaders must evaluate, promote, and fund resiliency initiatives that limit damage from extreme weather.
State and local leaders must build climate resiliency in their communities and adapt everything from infrastructure to building codes to zoning in order to protect against climate threats.
Neighborhood engagement must be prioritized; policy must protect vulnerable populations while avoiding displacement, and the burdens of mitigation and adaptation must be shared equitably.
Policy Recommendations
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Financial Resiliency
The costs of climate change are rising, particularly due to damage from extreme weather events like hurricanes and wildfires, while those least able to afford them will bear the most serious consequences. As these events grow in frequency and severity, it’s imperative for state and local governments to invest in resiliency efforts. This work, however, can be expensive, and requires new funding streams and creative uses of existing resources.
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Equitable Planning
Climate change will have an outsized impact on low-income people and communities of color. Higher temperatures lead to more premature or stillborn births, particularly for Black mothers and their babies. Frontline communities face both encroaching pollution and rising sea levels. State and local officials have worked to strengthen both the economics and resiliency of communities through thoughtful investment and planning.
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Plan for Flooding & Sea-Level Rise
Addressing the threat from extreme flooding involves both adapting current buildings and infrastructure in flood zones, as well as updating zoning laws and building codes so that future building is more resilient. State and local leaders are acting on a wide variety of policies to protect against extreme flooding.
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Wildfire Resiliency
Since 2000, more than a dozen fires have caused over a billion dollars in damages in the U.S., occasionally burning through Christmas. With climate change, fire season will continue to grow longer as more frequent megafires threaten communities and fill the air with unhealthy smoke. Policymakers are increasingly trying to limit the damage from these disasters.
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Protect Against Extreme Heat
Extreme heat kills more Americans than any other type of weather. As the U.S. experiences more frequent and longer heatwaves, and average daily and nighttime temperatures continue to rise, up to 28,000 more people could end up in the emergency room for heat-related illness every year by 2050, costing up to $52 million for treatment. The harm is especially focused among low-income residents and people of color who are less likely to have the resources to combat the heat.
