A combination of environmental factors exposes Virginia’s coastal dwellers to some of the nation’s most severe climate change-related hazards, yet the state has almost zero plans for adaptation. Could that be about to change?
John Upton details Virginia's climate change risks (e.g., subsiding costal areas, shifting currents, and rising seas) before asking the question of the state is preparing to do in response to these risks. "According to James McGarry, the chief policy analyst at the non-profit Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the answer to that question is pretty much 'Nada.' Despite the severe risks that Virginia faces from a warming climate, McGarry said that the state’s leadership is doing less than the leaders of many other states to address the problems.
Fortunately, however, there have been recent signs of life from the state. "On July 1,Governor Terry McAuliffe reconvened a commission of experts to make recommendations about how the state could address climate change. Coincidentally, a week later, McGarry’s group published a 60-page report that could help guide those efforts."
The report includes 10 recommendations: five for greenhouse gas emission reductions; five for climate change adaptation.
FULL STORY: How to Keep Virginia From Sinking
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research