Crown Management Jakarta Capital: Climate Change Added to US

1. Crown Management Jakarta Capital Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List

2. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List farmers_drought

3. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (IPS) - For the first time, a U.S. government auditor has added climate change to a list of issues that pose the greatest financial risk to the government and country. It is also warning that Washington is markedly unprepared to deal with the scope of the problem.

4. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List The admonitions, coming amidst a newly strengthened public discussion here on climate change, could offer an opportunity for some conservative lawmakers to re-engage with what has been one of the most fractious political issues of recent years.

5. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List "(T)he impacts and costliness of weather disasters will increase in significance as what are considered ‘rare' events become more common and intense due to climate change," a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns. "However, the federal government is not well positioned to address this fiscal exposure."3

6. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List According to the GAO, the federal government's primary financial watchdog, its "high risk" list currently includes 30 issues, covering concerns of efficiency, effectiveness or fraud, with a particular focus on defence and health systems. However, this year's inclusion of the financial risk to the government posed by the effects of climate change has the possibility to outweigh much of the rest of the list combined.

7. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List "This is of great significance, and follows trends already taking place in the private sector and local government," Keith Gaby, communications director for climate change with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), an advocacy group, told IPS. "As usual, this issue has bubbled up from the local level, and now the federal government has put its imprimatur on it."

8. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List In part, the federal government's financial exposure is so great because Washington directly oversees such a massive swath of land – some 650 million acres, nearly 30 percent of the entire country. That's a huge amount of infrastructure – including that meant to safeguard human communities – that could be endangered by unforeseen or dramatic changes to weather systems.

9. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List In addition, the government operates two huge insurance schemes that could be particularly stretched, covering flood damage and crops. The GAO warns that these remain based on decades-old conditions and approaches.

10. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List The issue that will most readily catch the eye of legislators is how the government's aid responsibilities following major disasters have been increasingly called upon in recent years. This is a particular concern given that the federal government's annual budgets do not include specific allocations for such aid.

11. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List The GAO reports that disaster declarations have steadily increased to a record 98 in 2011, compared with 65 in 2004, requiring a total 80 billion dollars during that period. Further, this figure was nearly equalled by the single request, late last year, for more than 60 billion dollars in response to Superstorm Sandy, the hurricane that ravaged much of the country's northeast.

12. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List That storm, coupled with a severe drought last summer and strong mention of climate issues in recent weeks by President Barack Obama, has led to a sudden strengthening of the public discussion here. "Climate is clearly back on the political agenda in major way," Jamie Henn, communications director for 350.org, an environment advocacy group organising a major Washington rally on Sunday, told IPS.

13. Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List "This report strongly underlines key points that we've been making about the risks of climate change and the country's continued reliance on fossil fuels. The White House has made it clear it doesn't yet have a full agenda, so it's still open for input – and that's what we'll be providing on Sunday."