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Study finds carbon credits could raise billions for climate action but only with changes, such as rigorous standards

The carbon-credit market must reform or “go out of business”, leading scientists have concluded in an international review of the offsetting industry.

The market for carbon offsets shrank dramatically last year after a series of scientific and media reports found many offsetting schemes had little environmental impact.

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Global demand for renewable energy is surging so why make solar panels, wind turbines and EVs dearer for western consumers?

With historic heatwaves sweeping across the US and other parts of the northern hemisphere, June is expected to be the 13th consecutive month of record-breaking global temperatures. The primary cause, of course, is the enormous amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Despite the existential threat posed by rising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, emissions continue to increase at a faster pace than previously anticipated.

On one front, however, progress in the fight against the climate crisis has exceeded expectations. Amid the global shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles and the accelerated adoption of solar and wind power, demand for renewable energy is rapidly rising in the US and the EU.

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Ross Cadell and Matt Canavan both vote for Greens legislation giving the ACCC divestiture powers over the major supermarkets. Follow the day’s news live

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The Queensland government plans to establish a new greater glider forest park as part of a $200m plan to reform the state’s timber industry.

The premier, Steven Miles, will today announce he will ban logging in between 50,000 and 60,000 hectares of high value ecosystem within the Eastern Hardwoods region in Wide Bay, north of Brisbane.

In addition, a new park to protect the greater glider will be established in the south-east Queensland bioregion.

The state government will also appoint an advisory group to develop a 30-year plan for the sector. It will include representatives from the timber industry, forestry experts, the conservation sector, First Nations peoples, the Australian Workers’ Union, construction sector and outdoor recreational groups.

Queensland’s timber industry is the backbone of the housing and building sectors.

That’s why I’m doing what matters to support timber workers and the industry to continue building our state, while also increasing our protected area estate.

The terms of reference released today map out our priorities as a government – that is, timber supply security, environmental protections, jobs and diverse employment opportunities.

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Many American dams are aging and in need of serious repairs. Climate change only makes the problem more urgent.

The deaths of at least 1,300 pilgrims during the hajj point to the growing threat that climate change poses to beloved gatherings.

Analysis of high-resolution drone imagery concludes 97% of corals died at a Lizard Island reef between March and June this year

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At least 97% of corals on a reef in the Great Barrier Reef’s north died during one of the worst coral bleaching events the world’s biggest reef system has ever seen, according to new analysis.

Scientists at several institutions used high-resolution drone imagery to track the bleaching and death of corals on a reef at Lizard Island.

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John Podesta, Biden’s top climate official, calls for other big economies to step in to help poorer states

The US will “continue to be a leader” in climate finance, the White House’s top climate official has promised, though without specifying how much it would provide to poor countries.

John Podesta, senior adviser to Joe Biden on international climate policy, also defended the large-scale US expansion of gas production, saying the world was fortunate America was strengthening its supply, given the demand for non-Russian sources after the invasion of Ukraine.

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As temperatures soar around the world, practical experiments are emerging to protect people.

Small increase in temperature of intruding water could lead to very big increase in loss of ice, scientists say

A newly identified tipping point for the loss of ice sheets in Antarctica and elsewhere could mean future sea level rise is significantly higher than current projections.

A new study has examined how warming seawater intrudes between coastal ice sheets and the ground they rest on. The warm water melts cavities in the ice, allowing more water to flow in, expanding the cavities further in a feedback loop. This water then lubricates the collapse of ice into the ocean, pushing up sea levels.

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Floods could leave coastal communities in states like Florida and California unlivable in two decades

Sea level rise driven by global heating will disrupt the daily life of millions of Americans, as hundreds of homes, schools and government buildings face frequent and repeated flooding by 2050, a new study has found.

Almost 1,100 critical infrastructure assets that sustain coastal communities will be at risk of monthly flooding by 2050, according to the new research by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The vast majority of the assets – 934 of them – face the risk of flood disruption every other week, which could make some coastal neighborhoods unlivable within two to three decades.

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Investigation finds funds touting ethical credentials include fast fashion labels and fossil fuel companies

Fast fashion labels, fossil fuel companies and SUV-makers are present in EU-regulated “sustainable” funds that tout their ethical credentials in their names, the Guardian and media partners can reveal, with $18bn (£14bn) of their investments going to the 200 biggest polluters.

Investors hold more than $87bn (£68bn) in funds that disclose under environmental and social sections of EU sustainable finance rules while including some of the biggest emitters of planet-heating gas, an analysis of data from the last quarter of 2023 shows. About one-fifth of the $87bn investments come from funds that also market themselves using environmentally-friendly terms.

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A new map tool from the Union of Concerned Scientists shows you where and when critical pieces of coastal infrastructure such as public housing buildings, schools and power plants are at risk of repeated, disruptive flooding due to climate change­­­­­-driven sea level rise.

The map tool is based on data from our new analysis and report, Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience: Rising Seas, Disruptive Tides, and Risks to Coastal Infrastructure. Covering the contiguous United States, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam, the analysis finds that by 2050, with a medium sea level rise scenario, seawater would flood more than 1,600 critical coastal infrastructure assets twice or more per year. This scenario projects roughly one foot of sea level rise by 2050 relative to a 2000 baseline and is consistent with the trajectory of observed sea level rise for most regions of the United States.

With the map tool, you can see exactly which facilities in your community are at risk, which we hope sparks discussions and planning around how to cope with future sea level rise and flood risks. In this post, we’ll explore the tool and highlight the types of information it can provide. For those who want to dive deeper, we’ll also show you where you can find even more information that you can use to engage your community, your elected officials, and candidates running for office in conversations about how to plan for sea level rise.

Explore infrastructure at risk from sea level rise through 2050

The first map you’ll come to in the Looming Deadlines mapping tool shows critical coastal infrastructure assets at risk of flooding twice or more per year by 2050 under the medium sea level rise scenario described above. The symbols on the map correspond to the six different categories of infrastructure we included in our analysis:

• Public housing buildings and affordable housing units
• Energy infrastructure, including power plants and electrical substations
• Industrial contamination sites, such as Superfund sites and brownfields
• Public safety and health facilities, such as hospitals and fire stations
• Educational institutions, including K-12 schools as well as colleges and universities
• Government facilities, such as city halls, post offices, and prisons

The new mapping tool from the Union of Concerned Scientists shows critical coastal infrastructure at risk of flooding twice or more per year by the year 2050.

Clicking on any facility will bring up more information, including the name and address of the facility, what subcategory of infrastructure it belongs to (e.g., a hospital or a fire station within the category of public safety and health facilities), and an assessment of how frequently it is expected to flood in the 2050 timeframe. Of the 1,600 assets we identify as being at risk of disruptive flooding by 2050, roughly 1,100 are expected to flood, on average, monthly and more than 900 would flood an average of every other week.

With this information, you’ll be able to see exactly what is at risk—an important first step in thinking through how to make your community more resilient.

Examples of communities with infrastructure at risk from sea level rise

Most coastal communities in the United States have at least some infrastructure assets at risk of flooding due to sea level rise in the decades ahead. Some communities are already grappling with frequent flooding that poses an increasingly real threat to infrastructure with each passing year. The second section of the map tool provides a window into the risks and complexities a few communities are already facing. In doing so, it drives home just how much is at stake along our coasts.

Here’s an example we highlight from Charleston, South Carolina:

The new map tool from the Union of Concerned Scientists highlights how sea level rise is already threatening critical infrastructure in some coastal US communities. Photo credit: Ben Neely/MyCoast.org. Seeing why our choices today matter for our kids and grandkids

The amount of sea level rise expected between now and 2050 is fairly certain because it is largely dictated by how much global-warming pollution we’ve already dumped into the atmosphere. The amount of sea level rise that happens over the second half of the century, however, is much less certain because it will depend on our future emissions of heat-trapping gases as well as how glaciers, ice sheets, and other Earth systems respond to those emissions. The third section of our map tool explores the range of late-century possibilities through the lens of our collective emissions choices.

The new map tool from the Union of Concerned Scientists allows you to compare late-century risks to coastal infrastructure, shown here as circles, under a low sea level rise scenario (on the left) versus a high sea level rise scenario (on the right).

Limiting future warming to 1.5°C or 2°C would improve our chances of limiting future sea level rise. The way to do that is by slashing heat-trapping emissions—by phasing out global fossil fuel use and ramping up clean energy. Under a low sea level rise scenario, our analysis finds that roughly 3,500 critical infrastructure assets along US coastlines are at risk of flooding twice or more per year by 2100. On the other hand, if global emissions continue to rise and global temperatures rise to 3°C or more, there’s an increased chance that a higher sea level rise scenario would come to fruition. Under a high sea level rise scenario, roughly four times as many infrastructure assets—nearly 15,100 total—are at risk of disruptive flooding.

What did you say? You want more data? And ways to act, too?

Our map tool is a great way to start exploring what is at risk as sea level rises, but it contains just a few slivers of the giant data pie that we baked for this report. If you’re hungry for a bigger piece of that pie, our downloadable spreadsheets will no doubt satisfy. These spreadsheets contain:

• Data for assets at risk in 2020 and 2030 as well as in 2050 and 2100.
• Filterable lists of all the assets at risk.
• Data for assets at risk under three different sea level rise and with three different flooding frequencies (2, 12, or 26 floods per year)
• Community-level data summarizing the total assets at risk in each category of infrastructure
• Estimates of the number of people living in communities with infrastructure at risk
• Data on how many of these assets fall into communities designated as “disadvantaged” by the federal Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool and what the demographics of affected communities are like.

Our Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience report points to risks to coastal infrastructure that are largely flying under the radar. But it also points to the many solutions already available to communities and the many ways that planners, policymakers, and the private sector can help communities build the resilience they need as sea level rise. For a full set of recommendations, check out the report itself.

Using our new map tool, we can see clearly the problems sea level rise poses for the infrastructure we rely on for homes, electricity, public health, safety, education, and much more. But we can also see a clear path to a coastline dotted with resilient communities. Armed with information from our maps and a set of commonsense recommendations, we hope you can too.

A new analysis out today and led by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) reveals a significant amount of critical infrastructure along US coastlines at risk of disruptive flooding today and in the near future as sea level rises, potentially affecting millions of coastal residents. We unpack the results of our analysis in a new report—Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience—and a slick new interactive mapping tool. Here, I’ll summarize why we did this analysis, what we found, and how the nation can address the risks we’re facing.

Climate risks to critical coastal infrastructure are flying under the radar

Sea level rise is a climate change impact that doesn’t charge into our lives the way a wildfire or a hurricane might—exploding in size and causing catastrophic damage in a short period of time. But over the last century, sea level has risen enough that coastal communities are starting to feel its effects.

In Norfolk, Virginia, the razing of a public housing development due to coastal flood risks has forced former residents of Tidewater Gardens to fight to secure their right to inhabit new affordable housing. Down the coast, in Charleston, South Carolina, sewer overflows due to tidal flooding have sent unhealthy, partially treated wastewater into nearby waterways.

Even without storms or heavy rainfall, high tide flooding driven by climate change is accelerating along US coastlines. It is increasingly evident that many critical infrastructure assets along our coasts—such as power plants, wastewater treatment plants, and schools—that were safe when constructed are now at risk of being regularly inundated with seawater. 

Hundreds of coastal infrastructure assets at risk this decade

To determine where and when coastal infrastructure would be at risk of flooding, we first mapped out areas along the coast that would flood 2, 12, or 26 times per year under a range of different amounts of future sea level rise. We then overlaid those maps with a dataset of infrastructure located along the coast, which included six different categories of buildings and services, from public and affordable housing to schools, hospitals, fire stations, and industrial contamination sites.

Our Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience analysis evaluated where and when assets within six categories of critical coastal infrastructure will be at risk of disruptive flooding due to sea level rise.

Over the course of this decade, our data show a sharp increase in the amount of infrastructure exposed to two or more disruptive flooding events annually, from 904 assets nationally in 2020 to 1,085 assets nationally in 2030. Those assets currently serve communities that are home to 2.2 million people—roughly the population of the fourth biggest city in the country, Houston, Texas.

Some communities will be more affected than others. Atlantic City, New Jersey, for example, is among the hardest-hit communities in this time frame, with 44 public and affordable housing facilities at risk of flooding twice annually by 2030. In the town of Raceland, Louisiana, 16 public housing buildings, an electrical substation, and a sheriff’s office are all in danger of flooding twice annually by the end of this decade. 

Of note, communities designated as disadvantaged by the federal government contain nearly twice as many at-risk assets per capita as nondisadvantaged communities. Additionally, communities in which five or more infrastructure assets are at risk are home to a disproportionately higher percentage of Black residents compared to the national average. This greater potential for disadvantaged communities to be affected by flooding is poised to exacerbate existing, unaddressed inequities caused by environmental racism and toxic pollution.

Major risks within the next 25 years

By 2050, with a medium sea level rise scenario in which sea level rises by roughly one foot, 1,662 critical infrastructure assets are at risk of flooding an average of twice annually. Overall, public and affordable housing, brownfields, electrical substations, wastewater treatment plants, and fire stations are the types of infrastructure with the most facilities at risk.

Between 2030 and 2050, the number of coastal infrastructure assets at risk of flooding twice or more per year increases steeply.

In this midcentury timeframe, disadvantaged communities contain, on average, about twice as many at-risk infrastructure assets per capita as nondisadvantaged communities, and more than 70 percent of the public housing at risk is located in disadvantaged communities. Moreover, disadvantaged communities with at-risk infrastructure are home to significantly higher percentages of people who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or Native American than the national average. In Maryland, for example, 82 percent of the assets at risk are in disadvantaged communities, where 41 percent of the population identifies as Black or African American, compared with roughly 32 percent of the population in the state as a whole.

Roughly 35% of coastal communities are categorized as disadvantaged by a federal screening tool, but more than 50% of the infrastructure assets at risk through midcentury are located within these disadvantaged communities. Our collective choices now will determine fates later this century

With higher emissions and greater warming, higher amounts of sea level rise late this century become more likely, mostly because there is greater potential for ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica to shrink, adding more water to the ocean. With such scenarios, more present-day infrastructure would be exposed to persistent flooding, with potentially grave consequences for the continued livability of coastal communities. Conversely, lower sea level rise scenarios are more likely if global emissions decrease substantially, and future warming is limited to 2°C or less. With lower sea level rise scenarios, less infrastructure would be at risk late this century.

We found that under a low sea level rise scenario, roughly 3,500 critical infrastructure assets would flood twice annually by 2100—a challenge, to be sure, and a substantial increase from the amount of infrastructure at risk today. Under a medium scenario, roughly 6,500 assets would flood with that frequency. And under the high scenario, that figure jumps to 15,081. 

The low, medium, and high scenarios result in profoundly different implications for the level of adaptation required, for state- and community-level consequences, and for the number of people whose daily lives could be affected.

Funding and leadership are needed now to build coastal resilience

The risks to vital infrastructure and services that millions of people depend on will grow as the global sea level rises in the coming decades, with wide-ranging implications for public health, safety, education, and well-being, and for coastal ecosystems and ways of life. This predicament creates a profound and urgent responsibility for policymakers and public and private decisionmakers to take protective action now, working together with communities. In our report, we outline six recommendations decisionmakers should act on: 

1. Use science and innovation to plan for near- and long-term risks
2. Scale up public and private sector funding for infrastructure resilience 
3. Reduce historical inequities and prevent future harms
4. Protect affordable housing; open just pathways to retreat
5. Start informed, flexible, adaptive planning now for later-century potential outcomes
6. Cut heat-trapping emissions to limit the pace and magnitude of sea level rise

You can read more about each of these recommendations in the report itself or in report co-author Rachel Cleetus’s blog post.

There is a narrow window of time for federal, state, and local policymakers to provide funding and resources and for local decisionmakers to use this backing to make transformative changes to their communities that would help them to withstand future flood risks. Our analysis shows that the scale of the challenge is daunting, but it also points to actionable, science-informed steps that can and must be taken to protect vital infrastructure and services. Investments in resilience, equitably shared, can help build a safer, fairer future for all.  

El mar se nos echa encima–y no estamos preparados.

Los océanos de nuestro planeta suben sin parar. Cada año que pasa, las aguas del mar, impulsadas por el cambio climático y la quema de combustibles fósiles, penetran cada vez más lejos tierra adentro. En Estados Unidos y sus territorios, las casi 90 millones de personas que viven en comunidades costeras se enfrentan a mareas altas e inundaciones en días de sol.

Dicha población depende de una amplia gama de instalaciones que proveen infraestructura y servicios esenciales, como por ejemplo, escuelas de nivel preprimario a universitario, estaciones de policía y bomberos, hospitales, centrales eléctricas y plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales. Pero también viven cerca de predios que manejan o albergan peligrosos contaminantes industriales y tóxicos. ¿Qué pasará cuando las instalaciones que proveen servicios esenciales se inunden y se vea interrumpido el servicio eléctrico o de agua potable, o los niños no puedan ir a la escuela porque el plantel está bajo agua o el camino que da acceso se ha inundado? 

Según un nuevo análisis publicado hoy por la Unión de Científicos Conscientes (o UCS, por sus siglas en inglés) titulado Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience, en español Urgen medidas para la resiliencia costera, para el año 2050 casi 1.100 instalaciones de infraestructura esencial ubicadas a lo largo de la costa de Estados Unidos se inundarían en promedio 12 veces al año, lo cual equivale a una vez por mes, en base a un aumento mediano (de 3,2 pies, o 97.5 cm en promedio a nivel global) en el nivel del mar. Esa cifra pudiera elevarse a más de 5.300 instalaciones de infraestructura esencial que estarían en riesgo para el año 2100 con el mismo aumento mediano.  

Este riesgo está distribuido muy desigualmente, ya que mucha de la infraestructura en riesgo está localizada en comunidades desfavorecidas debido al racismo, la discriminación y la contaminación. En nuestro estudio, integramos los datos de la herramienta de evaluación de justicia climática y económica del Consejo de Calidad Ambiental de la Casa Blanca (CEJST, en inglés) para determinar si la infraestructura en riesgo de inundación se ubica en comunidades identificadas como “marginadas” o “no marginadas.”

Los factores que contribuyen a que una comunidad se considere como marginada incluyen, entre otras, los retos a los que se enfrenta la comunidad en relación con la salud, la vivienda, el cambio climático e ingresos. En nuestro análisis encontramos que las comunidades identificadas como desfavorecidas tienen, per cápita, el doble de infraestructura esencial en riesgo para el 2050 en comparación con las comunidades que no han sido designadas como marginadas.

Gran parte de la infraestructura esencial en riesgo de inundación por mareas en 2050 en Florida, Puerto Rico, y Nueva Jersey está localizada en comunidades en desventaja. Imagen: UCS Las comunidades Latinas están muy expuestas en algunos estados y territorios

En particular, muchas comunidades costeras con altos porcentajes de Latinos están en riesgo. El estado de la Florida—donde casi un tercio de la población es de origen Latino— tiene el tercer número más grande de instalaciones que estarán en riesgo de inundación para el 2050, y ocupará el primer lugar en este rubro en 2100. Los resultados de 2050 indican que casi la mitad de dichas instalaciones están localizadas en comunidades en desventaja.

En la Florida, la infraestructura esencial en más alto riesgo de inundaciones para el 2050 y el 2100 incluye la vivienda pública y la vivienda asequible, predios con contaminación industrial, e inmuebles de salud y seguridad pública. Y según avance el cambio climático y los océanos se eleven, el riesgo continuará en aumento para comunidades en desventaja tanto para comunidades más favorecidas. En la Florida, de aquí al 2050 habrá 114 comunidades con infraestructura esencial bajo riesgo, y para el 2100 esta cifra aumentará a 409 comunidades. Se prevé un aumento de casi el doble en el número de instalaciones de infraestructura esencial bajo riesgo de inundaciones para el 2050 y que este número crezca trece veces para el 2100, en comparación con el año de referencia 2020.  

Sin acción climática, mucha infraestructura esencial en la Florida estará bajo agua en el 2050 (en base a un aumento de 3,2 pies, o 97.5 cm en promedio a nivel global para el 2050). Mapa elaborado por UCS. 

Puerto Rico, por su parte, tiene la fracción más grande de instalaciones esenciales en riesgo que están localizadas en comunidades en desventaja. En Puerto Rico, un máximo de 28 instalaciones esenciales correrían el riesgo de inundarse dos veces al año en promedio para el 2050. De este total, 20 estarían en riesgo de inundarse en promedio una vez cada dos semanas. Para finales de siglo, hasta 325 instalaciones correrían el riesgo de inundarse dos veces al año. De esos, 322 estarían en riesgo de inundarse en promedio una vez por mes y 300 en promedio una vez cada dos semanas.

Los más graves impactos de inundaciones costeras por incremento en el nivel del mar llegarían a Puerto Rico para finales de siglo, cuando el territorio ocuparía el séptimo lugar más alto en cuanto a infraestructura en riesgo de inundaciones perjudiciales en el 2100. La infraestructura esencial en más alto riesgo de inundaciones para el 2100 incluye residenciales públicos así como predios con contaminación industrial.

Entre estos se encuentra el complejo de vivienda pública más grande tanto en Puerto Rico como en Estados Unidos, el Residencial Luis Lloréns Torres (con aproximadamente 2.700 unidades de vivienda a unos 500 metros de distancia en línea recta de la costa de San Juan). En efecto, de aquí al 2050 habrá nueve comunidades con infraestructura esencial bajo riesgo, lo cual aumentará a 35 comunidades en 2100. También se prevé un aumento de más del 55% en el número de instalaciones de infraestructura esencial bajo riesgo de inundaciones para el 2050 y un incremento de 18 veces para el 2100, en comparación con el año de referencia 2020.  

Puerto Rico está a tiempo para prepararse para la gran cantidad de infraestructura esencial que estará bajo agua en 2100 (en base a un aumento de 6,5 pies, o 198.1 cm en promedio a nivel global para el 2100). UCS. 

En el condado de Camden, Nueva Jersey la población Latina ronda el 15 porciento y el 12 porciento de la población general vive bajo el umbral de pobreza. Aquí, la vivienda pública y a bajo costo, múltiples instalaciones que albergan o manejan contaminantes industriales o tóxicos y una central eléctrica estarán en riesgo de inundación en el 2050.  

Predios con contaminación industrial y la vivienda pública y de bajo costo en las áreas costeras de Gloucester City y Camden, Nueva Jersey se encuentran en riesgo de inundación cuando menos dos veces por año para el 2050. UCS.  Crisis climática: creada por la extracción y quema de combustibles fósiles, pero tenemos soluciones a la mano

Las comunidades que señalé son ejemplos de la multiplicidad de riesgos y disrupciones a la vida cotidiana para familias que viven en comunidades que dependen de la infraestructura esencial. Las y los jefes de familia se pudieran ver obligados a cambiar a sus hijos a nuevas escuelas apartadas de sus comunidades, que las inundaciones en tierra y suelos contaminados afecten el suministro de agua potable, que contaminantes peligrosos se esparzan por agua, aire o tierra, o que familias enteras sean desplazadas de sus comunidades. Si no damos prioridad a las soluciones para crear resiliencia en estas comunidades, corremos el riesgo de aumentar el dañino legado del racismo ambiental y del colonialismo en lugares que ya están de por sí muy desatendidos y olvidados. 

Este problema ha sido causado por décadas de hacer caso omiso a las advertencias de la comunidad científica y continuar y expandir la extracción y quema de combustibles fósiles. Es un problema causado por los seres humanos y por ende tiene soluciones que están a nuestro alcance. Nuestro informe ofrece una serie de recomendaciones para los responsables de las políticas públicas y los encargados de la toma de decisiones para promover preparación adecuada entre las comunidades para los riesgos y desafíos que se avecinan. Las recomendaciones incluyen: 

• El uso de la ciencia más avanzada para orientar la planificación de adaptación a los riesgos a corto y largo plazo.
• Incrementar en el fondeo público y privado en adición a las asignaciones contempladas en las políticas existentes, tales como la Ley de Inversión en Infraestructura y Empleos, con el fin de aumentar la resiliencia climática de la infraestructura costera.
• La implementación de políticas públicas para reducir las desigualdades históricas y prevenir daños a futuro.
• Proteger los residenciales públicos y vivienda asequible en la medida que sea posible.
• Crear oportunidades equitativas para las personas o comunidades que opten por reubicarse, y elaborar planes para una amplia variedad de posibilidades que pudieran presentarse a medida que el aumento del nivel del mar se acelere rápidamente. 
• Reducir drásticamente las emisiones de carbono para reducir el ritmo y la magnitud del aumento en el nivel del mar.

Estas comunidades son ejemplos de los riesgos a los que están expuestas las comunidades Latinas – pero hay muchas más. Busca tu comunidad en nuestro mapa y descubre cuáles son los riesgos de inundación por mareas impulsadas por el cambio climático y qué hacer al respecto.

Recursos:

• Lee nuestro informe aquí (en inglés)
• Consulta el blog en español que explica nuestro mapa interactivo aquí. ADD SPANISH MAP EXPLANATION BLOG LINK
• Consulta nuestro mapa interactivo aquí (en inglés)
• Accesa nuestras hojas de cálculo disponibles sobre la infraestructuras en riesgo en estados y comunidades (en inglés)

A new UCS study released today, Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience, shows that risks are growing to vital infrastructure and services that millions of people in coastal communities depend on as global sea levels rise in the coming decades. This will have wide-ranging implications for public health, safety, education, and well-being, and for coastal ecosystems and ways of life. Policymakers and public and private decisionmakers must act with urgency to take protective action now, working together with communities.

Decisionmakers, planners, and technical experts involved in funding, developing, designing, insuring, operating, and maintaining infrastructure must take immediate steps to safeguard critical infrastructure and ensure a more transformative path to true resilience over time, instead of business-as-usual maladaptive choices (see figure below).

Our study highlights six important recommendations to enhance resilience to coastal flooding for coastal infrastructure:

1: Use science and innovation to plan for near- and long-term risks

Across communities, there is a shared need to assess physical exposure and vulnerability to sea level rise risks and to develop plans to address them. Scientific projections of sea level rise and coastal flooding should be incorporated into all infrastructure investments, construction, operation, and maintenance. Local and state governments should conduct localized scientific risk and vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructure, including the potential for cascading vulnerabilities of interconnected infrastructure. They should develop comprehensive climate resilience plans to mitigate those risks and build inclusive processes to regularly update them.

Owners and operators of infrastructure, together with engineers and other experts, should develop action plans to address the risk of sea level rise, with public and private resilience planning being appropriately coordinated. And these plans should be regularly reevaluated based on the latest science and for robustness across plausible future scenarios.

New and improved infrastructure should be designed—and existing infrastructure upgraded—to meet stringent protective flood standards and engineering and building codes that account for rising seas and that remain effective for the assets’ expected lifetimes. In addition to measures onsite, community-wide measures, including beneficial land zoning and protection of natural flood mitigation assets, like wetlands, are extremely valuable and must be prioritized.

With sea level rise accelerating and significant infrastructure investments flowing through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the next 10 years are crucial to make meaningful progress in building climate resilience and safeguarding those investments from flooding. Congress should build on the Biden administration’s National Climate Resilience Framework by enacting a comprehensive national resilience strategy that provides guidance and technical assistance, and helps coordinate and target federal resources for state, regional, and local adaptation efforts.

2: Scale up public and private sector funding for infrastructure resilience

US infrastructure has long been woefully underfunded and routinely assessed as requiring attention, and sea level rise exposes and exacerbates those vulnerabilities. Public and private investments in infrastructure resilience must be scaled up across the board. Data from the National Institute of Building Sciences show that investing in retrofitting infrastructure such as wastewater facilities and electric substations has a benefit-cost ratio as high as 31 to 1.

State and federal policymakers must marshal funding for the proactive protection of infrastructure and prioritize resources for less wealthy and historically disadvantaged communities. Although existing federal funding is helpful, it falls well short of what is required and must be better aligned with projections of future flood risks.

Congress should also consider public-private opportunities, such as through a national resilient infrastructure bank. Funding raised through taxes, fees, utility rates, municipal bonds, and loans will all likely need to play a role, given the scale of the challenge. Litigation pathways could help make polluters fund climate resilience in addition to paying their share for damages, as part of holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their outsize role in the climate crisis.

Many critical infrastructure assets, including those in the power and wastewater management sectors, are owned, operated, or managed by private-sector entities, which makes their role essential in planning for and investing in climate resilience measures. Public utility commissions should require that utilities account for climate risks and make prudent investments in resilience while safeguarding the interests of ratepayers and protecting low-income households from potential rate spikes related to adaptation investments.

Market signals and incentives must be science-informed to prevent maladaptive choices and promote resilient outcomes. This is creating specific challenges in the context of insurance. In addition to climate impacts on homes and homeowner’s insurance, power sector assets, wastewater treatment plants, and public housing are also at risk of flooding from rising seas. These assets, too, require insurance—and that insurance is about to get more costly or hard to come by in some places, if it isn’t already.   

My colleague Shana Udvardy also lays out important recommendations to boost infrastructure resilience to climate impacts as this summer’s Danger Season of climate extremes gets under way.

3: Reduce historical inequities and prevent future harms

Our results show that communities already disadvantaged by historical and present racism, poverty, and other factors face a disproportionate burden of the nation’s current and future risks to coastal infrastructure. In some cases, these communities are in particularly flood-prone areas because economic factors, colonialism, racism, and deliberate policies such as mortgage redlining denied them access to, dispossessed them of, or forcibly moved them from more desirable areas on higher ground. Often, these same communities have also borne the health impacts of polluting and risky infrastructure intentionally sited within or near them, such as Superfund and other toxic or hazardous contamination sites. Worsening coastal flood risks add an additional layer of risk and compound harm.

Policymakers and decisionmakers should undertake resilience investments that limit further burdens on these communities; ensure that historically disadvantaged communities are prioritized for resources, including through effective implementation of the Justice40 Initiative; reduce barriers to funding and resources; reflect risk aversion through Office of Management and Budget guidance; and enable better outcomes. Communities should also have a direct say in the decisions that affect them, and policymakers must respect Tribal sovereignty. Decisionmakers must ensure that harmful histories of racism and inequities are not repeated as we invest in upgrading and building new climate-resilient infrastructure.

4: Protect affordable housing and open just pathways to retreat, where necessary

Public and affordable housing represents the single most at-risk category of infrastructure assets evaluated in the UCS Looming Deadlines analysis. Any loss of these units will add to the already acute crisis in the availability of such housing, driven by decades of under-investment and racial discrimination. Repeated flooding can also cause structural problems, mold, and other hazards to residents. All levels of government must invest in the protection, renovation, and construction of climate-resilient and energy-efficient affordable housing.

In places most highly exposed to flood risks, multiple critical infrastructure assets as well as homes and businesses may be in jeopardy, making the task of protecting them all eventually untenable. In such cases, decisionmakers may need to initiate hard conversations about managed retreat of entire communities. These discussions should include both resettlement resources for displaced communities, and resources and infrastructure investments for communities that receiving the displaced. Crucially, all these decisions must take place within a broader institutional framework that provides for meaningful engagement with communities and a human rights–centered approach to addressing climate-related displacement.

5: Start informed, flexible, adaptive planning now for later-century potential outcomes

Both the emissions choices we make over the next several decades and ice sheet dynamics will have significant bearing on the magnitude of the threat sea level rise poses to coastal infrastructure and communities in the long term. For this reason, it is important to embark on adaptation pathways that enable future flexibility. Adaptive design of engineering projects and buildings can help ensure they reliably function over their full lifetime—with the potential to be upgraded as needed—taking into account the plausible range of climate futures.

Communities will need to weigh their choices: for example, making a limited investment to protect an asset at risk in the near term, and then using the time gained to relocate the services it provides—or the community more broadly—to higher ground.

6: Cut heat-trapping emissions to limit the pace and magnitude of sea level rise

Sharply curtailing global heat-trapping emissions and phasing out fossil fuels while ramping up clean energy solutions must also be a cornerstone of our work to enable resilience on our coastlines. While near-term sea level rise is largely locked in, the choices nations make about reducing global emissions, starting right now, could lead to profoundly different levels of risk on our coastlines over the course of the century. As a relatively wealthy nation and the leading contributor to historical heat-trapping emissions, the United States has a unique responsibility to contribute to global climate efforts. Decisionmakers at local, state, federal, and international levels must prioritize a rapid and equitable transition to clean, affordable energy while ensuring a phaseout of fossil fuels.

For more information about coastal infrastructure at risk, you can view the report, use our interactive map to learn what vital assets are exposed to sea level rise in many coastal communities, and read our blog posts.

Una nueva herramienta de mapeo de la Unión de Científicos Conscientes (o UCS, por sus siglas en inglés) muestra dónde y cuándo la infraestructura costera esencial, tales como edificios de vivienda pública, escuelas y centrales eléctricas, corren el riesgo de sufrir inundaciones recurrentes y perjudiciales debido al aumento en el nivel del mar provocado por el cambio climático.  

La herramienta de mapeo se basa en los datos de nuestro nuevo análisis e informe, Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience: Rising Seas, Disruptive Tides, and the Shrinking Window to Tackle Risks to Coastal Infrastructure, en español, Urgen medidas para la resiliencia costera ante el aumento del nivel del mar, inundaciones por mareas altas y riesgos a la infraestructura. El análisis abarca Estados Unidos contiguos, Puerto Rico, las Islas Vírgenes estadounidenses y Guam, y concluye que, con un aumento mediano del nivel del mar, el agua del mar inundaría más de 1.600 instalaciones esenciales de infraestructura costera unas dos veces o más al año para el año 2050. Este escenario proyecta un aumento aproximado de un pie en el nivel del mar para el 2050 en comparación con los datos de referencia del año 2020 y es coherente con la trayectoria del aumento en el nivel del mar que se ha observado en la mayoría de las regiones de Estados Unidos.  

Mediante el uso de la herramienta de mapeo, usted podrá conocer exactamente cuáles instalaciones de su comunidad están en riesgo, lo que esperamos propicie conversaciones y actividades de planeación sobre cómo hacer frente al futuro aumento en el nivel del mar y a los riesgos de inundación. En este blog exploraremos la herramienta y explicaremos el tipo de información que puede proporcionar. Para aquellos que quieran profundizar en el tema, también mostraremos dónde se puede obtener más información útil para involucrar a su comunidad, a los funcionarios electos y a los candidatos a puestos públicos en conversaciones sobre cómo planificar y prepararse para el aumento en el nivel del mar.  

Explore la infraestructura que está en riesgo debido al aumento en el nivel del mar de aquí al año 2050 

El primer mapa que aparece en la herramienta de mapeo Looming Deadlines muestra las instalaciones de infraestructura esencial ubicadas a lo largo de la costa que corren el riesgo de inundarse dos o más veces al año de aquí al año 2050, esto según el escenario de aumento mediano en el nivel del mar descrito anteriormente. Los símbolos del mapa corresponden a las seis diferentes categorías de infraestructura que incluimos en nuestro análisis: 

• Edificios de vivienda pública y unidades de vivienda asequible 

• Infraestructura energética, lo cual incluye centrales eléctricas y subestaciones eléctricas 

• Instalaciones con contaminación industrial, como por ejemplo aquellas del Superfondo y terrenos industriales abandonados 

• Inmuebles de salud y seguridad pública, como hospitales y estaciones de bomberos 

• Instituciones educativas, incluyendo escuelas desde nivel prepimario hasta preparatorias, escuelas técnicas y universidades 

• Instalaciones de gobierno, como ayuntamientos, oficinas de correos y prisiones  

La nueva herramienta de mapeo de la Unión de Científicos Conscientes muestra la infraestructura costera esencial que está en riesgo de inundarse dos o más veces al año para el año 2050.  

Al hacer clic en cualquier instalación aparecerá más información, incluyendo el nombre y la dirección de la instalación, la subcategoría de infraestructura a la que pertenece (por ejemplo, un hospital o una estación de bomberos dentro de la categoría de instalaciones de salud y seguridad pública) y una valoración de la frecuencia con la que se prevé que se inunde para el año 2050. De las 1.600 instalaciones que identificamos en riesgo de sufrir inundaciones perjudiciales para el 2050, se estima que aproximadamente 1.100 se inundarán en promedio una vez al mes y más de 900 lo harán cada dos semanas en promedio. 

Con esta información, usted podrá saber exactamente lo que está en riesgo, un primer paso importante para pensar en cómo hacer que su comunidad sea más resiliente. 

Ejemplos de comunidades con infraestructura en riesgo debido al aumento en el nivel del mar

En la mayoría de las comunidades costeras de Estados Unidos hay al menos algunas instalaciones de infraestructura en riesgo de inundación debido al aumento en el nivel del mar durante las próximas décadas. Algunas comunidades ya están lidiando con inundaciones frecuentes que representan una amenaza cada vez más real para la infraestructura con cada año que transcurre. La segunda sección de la herramienta de mapeo le permite conocer los riesgos y las complejidades a los que ya se enfrentan algunas comunidades. Esto pone de manifiesto lo mucho que está en juego a lo largo de nuestras costas. 

Este es un ejemplo destacado de Charleston, Carolina del Sur: 

La nueva herramienta de mapeo de la Unión de Científicos Conscientes pone de relieve cómo el aumento en el nivel del mar ya amenaza a la infraestructura esencial de algunas comunidades costeras en Estados Unidos.  

Las decisiones que tomemos hoy son importantes para nuestros hijos y nietos

Hay bastante certidumbre en la magnitud del aumento en el nivel del mar previsto de aquí al 2050, ya que depende en gran medida de la contaminación causante del calentamiento global que ya hemos emitido a la atmósfera. Sin embargo, no es tan certero el aumento en el nivel del mar que ocurrirá durante la segunda mitad del siglo, pues dependerá de las futuras emisiones de gases que atrapan el calor, así como de la forma en que los glaciares, las capas de hielo y otros sistemas terrestres respondan a esas emisiones. La tercera sección de nuestra herramienta de mapeo explora la gama de posibilidades para finales de siglo en función de las decisiones colectivas que tomemos en materia de emisiones. 

La nueva herramienta de mapeo de la Unión de Científicos Conscientes le permite comparar los riesgos que enfrentará la infraestructura costera para finales de siglo, misma que aparece como círculos, en un escenario de un aumento bajo en el nivel del mar (a la izquierda) en comparación con un escenario de un aumento elevado en el nivel del mar (a la derecha).  

Si logramos limitar el calentamiento futuro a 1,5°C o 2°C, aumentarían las posibilidades de limitar el aumento en el nivel del mar a futuro. La forma de hacerlo es mediante la reducción drástica de emisiones que atrapan el calor, eliminando progresivamente el uso de combustibles fósiles a nivel global e incrementando el uso de energías limpias. En un escenario de un aumento bajo en el nivel del mar, nuestro análisis concluye que unas 3.500 instalaciones de infraestructura esencial ubicadas a lo largo de las costas estadounidenses corren el riesgo de inundarse dos o más veces al año para el 2100.

Por otro lado, si las emisiones globales siguen aumentando y las temperaturas globales suben 3ºC o más, hay mayores posibilidades de que se presente un aumento más elevado en el nivel del mar. En un escenario de un aumento elevado en el nivel del mar, aproximadamente cuatro veces más instalaciones de infraestructura (cerca de 15.100 en total) corren el riesgo de sufrir inundaciones perjudiciales. 

¿Qué dijo? ¿Quiere más datos? ¿Y también formas de actuar?  

Nuestra herramienta de mapeo es un excelente recurso para empezar a explorar lo que está en riesgo a medida que suba el nivel del mar, pero sólo contiene algunas rebanadas del gigantesco pastel de datos que hemos horneado para este reporte. Si usted quiere un pedazo más grande de ese pastel, nuestras hojas de cálculo descargables sin duda le interesarán. Estas hojas de cálculo contienen: 

• Datos de las instalaciones en riesgo para el 2020 y 2030, así como para el 2050 y 2100. 

• Listas filtrables de todas las instalaciones en riesgo. 

• Datos de las instalaciones en riesgo bajo tres escenarios diferentes de aumento en el nivel del mar y tres frecuencias de inundación diferentes (2, 12 ó 26 inundaciones al año) 

• Datos a nivel comunitario con un resumen del total de instalaciones en riesgo en cada categoría de infraestructura 

• Estimaciones del número de personas que viven en comunidades con infraestructuras en peligro 

• Datos sobre cuántas de esas instalaciones se encuentran en comunidades designadas como “desfavorecidas” por la herramienta federal de evaluación de justicia climática y económica y sobre la demografía de las comunidades afectadas. 

Nuestro informe Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience señala los riesgos para la infraestructura costera que están pasando desapercibidos en gran medida. Pero también destaca las diversas soluciones disponibles para las comunidades y las muchas maneras en que los planificadores, los responsables de las políticas públicas y el sector privado pueden ayudar a las comunidades a desarrollar la resiliencia que necesitan a medida que sube el nivel del mar. Consulte el informe para conocer el conjunto completo de recomendaciones.  

Mediante el uso de nuestra nueva herramienta de mapeo, podemos ver claramente los problemas que representa el aumento en el nivel del mar para las infraestructuras de las que dependemos para la vivienda, la electricidad, la salud pública, la seguridad, la educación y mucho más. Pero también podemos ver un camino claro hacia una costa compuesta de comunidades resilientes. Esperamos que usted también pueda verlo aprovechando la información de nuestros mapas y aplicando una serie de recomendaciones con sentido común. 

The number of deaths during the annual Islamic pilgrimage raised questions about Saudi Arabia’s preparations for intense heat and unregistered participants.

We’re now in the midst of “Danger Season”– the months between May and October when we witness extreme events turbo-charged by climate change. These six months bring dangerous and often deadly conditions due to peaks in heat waves, heavy rainfall, hurricanes and wildfires.  

We’re witnessing an increase in costly damages thanks to fossil-fueled climate change, which has increased the intensity and frequency of some extreme events, and also thanks to more buildings and people in risky areas. On the ground, this means communities, local, state and the federal government, territories and tribes have less time to prepare for the next event and less time to respond after an event. These shorter timeframes between disasters pose significant challenges to finance and implement measures to make the infrastructure resilient to the next extreme event. 

Climate Change Is Straining Critical Infrastructure 

As climate drives global average temperatures to record highs month after month and year after year, our infrastructure is facing harsher conditions than ever. In the week preceding the official start of summer alone, conditions were already looking more and more dangerous: 

• Extreme Heat: Earlier in June, a heat wave in Puerto Rico stressed energy infrastructure damaged after hurricanes Maria and Fiona and caused transmission line failures between San Juan and Aguas Buenas. As a result, 350,000 people lost power.  As my colleague John Rogers explains, extreme heat can have cascading impacts on our electricity system making electricity more expensive, more polluting, and less reliable. As temperatures rise, so too does the demand for energy as more people turn to AC to keep cool. Higher demand means power grid operators, who start with the cleaner and cheaper plants like solar power, need to pull other, often dirtier, gas or coal-fired power plants online. As demand escalates beyond supply, grid operators run out of supply options which can result in blackouts. Under high heat conditions, power plants can also be less efficient at producing electricity as they normally would under cooler conditions.  But there is some good news: grid operators are finding that the solar power capacity has increased the grid system’s reliability during heatwaves. Sadly, extreme heat has disruptive impacts on other infrastructure as well, for example it can buckle railways, warp pavement and tarmac and melt tires on planes.  

• Heavy Rainfall and Flooding: Heavy rainfall in southern Florida in June swamped places like Fort Lauderdale, which received a record daily rainfall of 9.5 inches, bringing many places to a standstill. Roads were closed, people and vehicles were trapped by waist-high flooding, flights at airports in Miami, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Orlando were delayed, and disaster declarations were issued for 5 counties (Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota Counties). Southeast Texas suffered a deluge of rain from back-to-back storm events causing homes, gas stations, restaurants and neighborhoods to flood. Families were rescued from rooftops and some “lost everything”.  From April 28 to May 7 parts of East Texas recorded a massive 25 inches of rainfall compared to the average 1.2 inches during that same period (1981-2010). High water levels forced dam operators to implement controlled flow releases to alleviate the risk of aging dams breaking. The Upper Midwest is also suffering from major to historic flooding. The Governor of Iowa issued disaster declarations for 21 counties and reported that “hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities were evacuated. Cities are without power, and some are without drinkable water.”  
• Wildfires: In early June, wildfires ignited at a rapid pace in California and in other western states causing road closures, evacuations, structural damage and poor air quality. My colleague Paul Arbaje explains that wildfires can have direct impacts on critical components of the power grid. For example, the intense heat can cause transmission lines to sag towards the ground, and the soot and smoke can weaken the transmission lines’ insulation causing a greater likelihood of faulting. And the damages to transmission and distribution systems can be costly. Arbaje notes that wildfire damage over six years (2000 to 2016) caused more than $700 million in damages to California’s transmission and distribution systems. 
• Compound and Cascading Events: In New Mexico, the reports of the compound disasters in just a short period of time are harrowing. High temperatures and sustained drought provided the conditions for two wildfires that burned thousands of acres, destroyed structures and took lives. Then Tropical Storm Alberto dropped eight inches of rainfall in some of the central parts of the state, more than the state sees in most years. This heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding and dangerous debris flow. If those impacts weren’t enough, high winds caused a massive dust storm or “haboob” which clouded people’s visibility, leading to a traffic nightmare and a 20-car crash in a deadly pile-up. Even with the rainfall, wildfire containment and suppression efforts continue. And on one of the hottest days in New York City, a malfunctioning circuit breaker caused a power outage disrupting Amtrak train schedules and long delays for commuters. Scientists describe how compound events like what New Mexico experienced and cascading impacts like the disruption in train travel will become more frequent with climate change.   

As the costs of billion-dollar disasters continue to rise and we witness shorter intervals between disasters, how we build and repair infrastructure now matters. Climate science, policy incentives, standards and adaptation plans will help to advance the resilience of critical infrastructure and ensure it is built or repaired to withstand climate change risks over the lifecycle of the asset. But first we need major investments in climate resilience.   

Here are a few essential steps Congress must take: 

Factor in “Danger Season” when it comes to FEMA’s Disaster Resilience Fund and the appropriation of sufficient funds 

There’s a nagging challenge each year before the end of the fiscal year and around the start of Danger Season when FEMA’s Disaster Resilience Fund (DRF) is nearly running on empty. The DRF is FEMA’s primary source for funding its operational needs and disaster assistance for local and state governments and households after a disaster declaration. According to FEMA’s latest report, the DRF could be more than $6.8 billion in the red by September. FEMA administrator Criswell is still waiting for Congress to fulfill her request for an additional $9 billion for the DRF. 

Congress must prioritize robust funding for disaster relief and not leave FEMA hanging when it’s clear we’re in for a busy danger season. We also need Congress to come up with a more reliable and direct way to sustain DRF resources and to amend the Stafford Act to make clear that heat waves and wildfire smoke qualify for disaster assistance under the disaster declaration process.  

Congress must also pass the bipartisan and bicameral Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, which would permanently authorize the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program. The CDBG-DR program provides long-term recovery assistance grants to households and communities after a disaster. The bill would ensure more predictable dispersal of grants among other vital changes and important improvements.  

Provide federal funding to ensure critical infrastructure is Danger Season-proof and climate-ready

We rely on infrastructure like electricity to power our lights, hospitals when we’re hurt and schools to educate our children. Yet much of the US infrastructure is in disrepair, earning a below average, passing grade due to the lack of systematic investments in maintenance. This decade, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that  $2.58 trillion is needed to close the investment gap in critical infrastructure systems. Climate change-related impacts, such as sea level rise and extreme heat, have exacerbated these vulnerabilities and stressed the interdependent infrastructure systems causing complications if for example electricity shorts out and the lights go off at a local hospital.  

While funding challenges exist across the board, even in metropolitan areas with robust tax bases, an array of proactive financial mechanisms exist that local, state and the federal governments can implement to enhance funding opportunities. Uniting resources across public and private entities and sectors and at multiple scales helps to increase the capacity to plan and finance adaptation. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in San Francisco, for example, has developed a framework in which they identified resources they could pull from, including local taxes, local and state bonds, and state and federal grants, while also identifying potentially new funding avenues. Given the upfront costs of some adaptation measures, successful projects often pool from multiple government grants, as in the case of ABAG, which identified funding resources from seven different federal agencies.  

Federal, state and local governments can establish financial mechanisms such as infrastructure banks and revolving loan programs to help fund adaptation and resilience measures. For example: 

• FEMA has the Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program, which provides $150 million for Fiscal Year 2024 to help state and local governments finance water, wastewater, infrastructure, disaster recovery, community and small business development projects. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provided FEMA with $100 million annually for five years to support this program. 
• Rhode Island has an infrastructure bank to help develop and implement clean energy, climate resilience, brownfield remediation, and water infrastructure solutions and capital improvement projects for roads and bridges.  

• Miami’s Forever Bond provides support for sea level rise and flood prevention, roadways, parks and cultural facilities, public safety, and affordable housing. 

While the BIL investments are an important step forward to sustain and rebuild infrastructure systems, a limited portion of these funds will ensure infrastructure is built and repaired to withstand climate change risks. We will need Congress and the administration to develop additional programs and new pots of money to advance the much-needed resilience and reliability of the nation’s critical infrastructure into the future. 

Data show that federal dollars spent on mitigating extreme weather and climate change-related risks are cost effective. For example, on average, federal hazard mitigation grants save $6 for every dollar invested in damages avoided. And critical “lifeline” infrastructure projects, such as water treatment plants, can have a return of up to $31 for every dollar invested.  

Target funding to where—and who—needs it most 

As the BIL funds are being invested in projects across the country, it’s important that federal agencies guide the funding to those communities that have historically been disadvantaged and have the least resources to prepare for extreme weather and climate change related risks. If the goal of the Justice40 Initiative (J40) is met and 40 percent of the benefits of certain programs are targeted to disadvantaged communities, it’ll be a significant milestone for these communities and the federal government alike. 

However, a new UCS study by Amanda Fencl and colleagues followed federal funding flows from the BIL for the state of California. They found that, to date, only 24% of the BIL funding allocated in California went towards the designated disadvantaged communities J40 was designed to benefit. While it’s still early in the BIL allocation process, the Follow the Money report provides a useful snapshot of potential challenges at this stage in the implementation process, and recommends that the federal government improve the tracking of federal funding throughout the funding process. My colleague Chitra Kumar provides insights on J40 and additional recommendations here.  What I think most can agree on is that investments are sorely needed in these communities, and the federal agencies and the administration should commit to continuous improvements to meet the goals of J40. 

It’s time for sustained action to ensure climate-ready infrastructure 

There is no doubt the nation has a big to-do list when it comes to advancing climate-resilient infrastructure across sectors. But there is good news: we know investments now can save money down the road by reducing damages; we can learn a lot from how the BIL is being implemented and do better to close the resilience and Justice40 gaps; we have the latest climate science to inform planning; and we have resilience frameworks (e.g. the White House National Climate Resilience Framework and UCS’s Toward Climate Resilience framework) to help guide decisionmakers.

With Danger Season providing an unwelcome look into our climate future, wealthier nations like the United States must rapidly reduce global heat-trapping emissions, phase out fossil fuels and ramp up clean energy solutions. The administration and Congress must also invest in climate-ready infrastructure at the scale the climate crisis demands. In the interim, we also need the administration, Congress, state and local governments and the private sector to ensure we have the standards to guide the building and repair of climate-ready infrastructure. 

In a changing climate, extreme wildfire events are becoming far more common and more intense, according to a new analysis.

A sharp increase in hardware orbiting Earth could mean more harmful metals lingering in the atmosphere, according to a new study.