National League of Cities Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Steering Committee Meeting

1. National League of CitiesEnergy, Environment and Natural Resources Steering Committee Meeting September 20th, 2013 Bryan M. Myers EPA Region 4 Energy and Climate Change Coordinator

2. EPA ACTION UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA’S PLAN • Reducing carbon pollution from power plants • Building a 21st century transportation sector • Cutting energy waste in homes, businesses, and factories • Reducing methane and HFCs • Preparing the U.S. for the impacts of climate change • Leading international efforts to address global climate change

3. PREPARING THE U.S. FOR THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE • Progress • In 2013, federal agencies released Climate Change Adaptation plans for the first time • Continuing the momentum for the future • Assessing climate change impacts in the United States and tracking observed changes • Climate Data Initiative • Leveraging existing climate-related data efforts, including EPA’s GHG Reporting Program • Building stronger and safer communities and infrastructure • Support climate-resilient investment • Provide tools for climate resilience

4. Source – Hansen, L., R.M. Gregg, V. Arroyo, S. Ellsworth, L. Jackson, and A. Snover. (2013). The State of Adaptation in the United States: An Overview. A report for John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. EcoAdapt. Tracking Adaptation Efforts

5. Adaptation Planning Activity Source – Hansen, L., R.M. Gregg, V. Arroyo, S. Ellsworth, L. Jackson, and A. Snover. (2013). The State of Adaptation in the United States: An Overview. A report for John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. EcoAdapt. Tracking Adaptation Efforts

6. Overview of the DraftEPA Climate Change Adaptation Plan http://epa.gov/climatechange/pdfs/EPA-climate-change-adaptation-plan-final-for-public-comment-2-7-13.pdf

7. Outline for EPA Climate Change Adaptation Plan • Part 1: Vision of the Future EPA • Part 2: Known Vulnerabilities to EPA’s Mission from Climate Change • Part 3: Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in EPA: Agency-wide priorities • Part 4: Measuring and Evaluating Performance

8. Agency-wide Priorities • Fulfill Strategic Measures in FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan • Protect Agency facilities and operations • Factor legal considerations into adaptation efforts • Strengthen adaptive capacity of EPA staff and partners through training • Develop decision-support tools that enable EPA staff and partners to integrate climate adaptation planning into their work • Identify cross-EPA science needs related to climate adaptation • Partner with tribes to increase adaptive capacity • Focus on most vulnerable people and places • Measure and evaluate performance • Develop Program and Regional Office Implementation Plans

9. Implementation Plans • Draft Climate Change Adaptation Implementation Plans developed by every National Environmental Program Office and all 10 Regional Offices • Purpose: To provide more detail on the work they will do to address the Agency-wide priorities on climate adaptation • Required by EPA Policy Statement on Climate Change • Adaptation (June 2011) • Delivered to CEQ and OMB: June 2013 • Soon to be released for public review and comment

10. Implementation Plans (cont.) • Common areas of focus: • Vulnerability assessments • Priority actions on climate adaptation • Agency-wide Strategic Measures on climate adaptation • Legal and enforcement issues • Training and outreach • Partnerships with tribes • Vulnerable populations and places • Evaluation and cross-Office pilot projects

11. Progress is already being made to integrate climate change adaptation planning at EPA

13. Decision Support Tools and Resources Data, information, and tools already exist to facilitate vulnerability assessments and inform adaptive management decisions by EPA and its stakeholders

14. Communicate the causes and effects of climate change in an easy-to-understand way (What is happening now? What does climate change look like?). • Highlight observed data with a focus on the U.S., with some regional and some global context; no future projections included. • Show important trends that are relevant to society and the environment. • Inform existing and future climate-related programs.

15. Regional Climate Scenariosand Sea Level Rise Scenarios • On January 11, 2013, the USGCRP released regional climate scenarios that were produced for the U.S. National Climate Assessment. • Global sea level rise scenarios released by NOAA in December 2012. • The scenarios represent the first standardized set of regional climate scenarios that can be used by all federal agencies for adaptation and mitigation analyses and planning. • The scenarios provide a picture of future climate that EPA can use as it anticipates and prepares for future changes in climate.

18. BASINS is a widely distributed tool designed for use by regional, state, and local agencies in performing watershed and water quality-based studies EPA’s Office of Water encouraging use of BASINS to support regulatory compliance (e.g. TMDLs) New version (ver. 4) released in May 2007 Enhanced BASINS with a Climate Assessment Tool (CAT) CAT provides a capability for understanding how water resources could be affected by a range of potential changes in climate the effectiveness of management practices for increasing the resilience of water resources to changes in climate http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/BASINS/ “Enhanced” BASINS: An EPA Decision Support Tool for Water Resource Managers

19. Example Adaptation Planning Process • Build and maintain support to prepare for climate change • Scope projected climate impacts on programs and planning areas • Assess vulnerability and risk • Set preparedness goals and actions • Implement your plan and evaluate effectiveness California Climate Adaptation Planning Guide By California Emergency Management Agency and California Natural Resources Agency with funding from FEMA. http://resources.ca.gov/climate_adaptation/local_government/adaptation_policy_guide.html Preparing for Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional, and State Governments. By the Climate Impacts Group; King County, Washington; and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA. http://www.cses.washington.edu/db/pdf/snoveretalgb574.pdf Today: How can we collaborate with other sectors to leverage resources and funding for these efforts?

20. Adaptation Funding Opportunities Federal Agency Opportunities • EPA State and Local Climate and Energy Newsletter is a listserv that shares information about state and local developments in policies, programs, and opportunities http://epa.gov/statelocalclimate/newsletters/index.html#a01 • Grants.govis a database for all federal grants http://www.grants.gov/ • EPA Grant Competition Forecast for Calendar Year 2013 provides a list of current and anticipated opportunities http://www.epa.gov/ogd/training/resources_for_communities/community_grants_table.htm • Partnership for Sustainable Communities: Grants, Assistance & Programs offers a list of opportunities through this interagency HUD-DOT-EPA partnership http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/grants.html • EPA Adaptation Tools for Public Officials provides numerous tools and guidebooks http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/adapt-tools.html • Federal and EPA Adaptation Programs provides information and links about the adaptation efforts across the federal agencies http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/fed-programs.html

21. Adaptation Funding Opportunities Local Opportunities • Climate Adaptation Fund supports applied projects specific to wildlife adaptation http://www.wcsnorthamerica.org/ClimateAdaptationFund/tabid/4813/Default.aspx • DSIRE Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency http://www.dsireusa.org/ • Tribal Climate Change Funding Guide is a database of climate change opportunities http://envs.uoregon.edu/tribal-climate/

22. U.S. EPA Adaptation Resources U.S. EPA Climate Change Website • Accessible scientific information about the causes and impacts of climate changewww.epa.gov/climatechange • Specific information about the impacts and adaptation options by region and sector for the U.S. www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/ U.S. EPA Climate Change Indicators Report • EPA report on set of 26 indicators used to track the signs of climate change www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/index.html U.S. EPA State and Local Climate and Energy Program Website • Links to state adaptation plans, resources, and tools www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/state/topics/impacts-adaption.html • 2010-2011 climate adaptation webcasts on impacts, planning frameworks, and federal resources http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/web-podcasts/local-webcasts.html#adap1 Other U.S. EPA Programs • Climate Ready Estuaries water.epa.gov/type/oceb/cre/index.cfm • Climate Ready Water Utilities water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/climate/index.cfm • Urban Heat Island Reduction Program www.epa.gov/heatisland

23. Additional Adaptation Resources CAKE – Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange • Case studies, virtual library, online community www.cakex.org C2ES Adaptation Resources • Impacts analysis, legislative tracking, example adaptation plans ww.c2es.org/science-impacts/adaptation EcoAdapt • Feed adaptation resources, Climate Adaptation Starter Kit www.ecoadapt.org Georgetown Climate Center • Best practices, legal analysis, legislative tracking, example adaptation plans www.georgetownclimate.org ICLEI – Climate Adaptation Guidance • Free adaptation resources, adaptation training, ADAPT Tool, regional impacts www.icleiusa.org/climate_and_energy/Climate_Adaptation_Guidance U.S. Global Change Research Program • National Climate Assessment, data, reports www.globalchange.gov/

24. Contact Information Bryan Myers Region 4 Energy and Climate Change Coordinator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency myers.bryan@epa.gov 404-562-9603 Emma Zinsmeister Lead Local Climate Strategy Analyst U.S. Environmental Protection Agency State and Local Climate and Energy Program zinsmeister.emma@epa.gov 202-343-9043