Rahul Somvanshi
The Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to enhance the resilience of federal operations to climate change impacts were supported by NASA and 20 federal agencies on Thursday when they released their Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP). The CAP is expected to benefit all and advances the Administration’s National Resilience Framework (NCRF), which aligns climate resilience investments across the public and private sectors through common principles and opportunities.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson commented, “Thanks to the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, we are strengthening climate resilience to ensure humanity is well-prepared for the effects of climate change.” He added that NASA’s decades of Earth observation are key to building climate resiliency and sustainability across the country and the world. Global leadership in Earth science by NASA provides researchers with critical data from its satellites and other assets. Climate variability and change also have potential impacts on NASA’s ability to fulfill its mission.
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Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said, “As communities face extreme heat, natural disasters and severe weather from the impacts of climate change, President Biden is delivering record resources to build climate resilience across the country.” President Biden tasked federal agencies to tackle climate change at home and abroad with his Executive Order 1408.
NASA and federal agencies updated their CAP for 2024 to 2027 in coordination with the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The updates include combining historical data and projections to assess the exposure of assets to climate-related hazards, expanding the operational focus on managing climate risk to facilitate and supply federal employees and federal lands and waters, and broadening the mission focus to mainstream adaptation into agency policies, programs, planning, budget formulation, and external funding. Additionally, the plan links climate adaptation actions with other Biden-Harris Administration priorities and adopts common progress indicators across agencies to assess the progress of agency climate adaptation efforts.
Climate Adaptation Plans for 2024 to 2027 includes:
- Assess climate risks to assets using historical data and projections, covering hazards like extreme heat, floods, and wildfires.
- Extend climate risk management to include facilities, supply chains, federal lands, waters, and employees.
- Integrate climate adaptation across agency operations, planning, and funding.
- Connect climate adaptation efforts with broader Administration priorities such as environmental justice, tribal engagement, and climate mitigation.
- Use standardised indicators to track progress in climate adaptation across agencies.
In summary, NASA has released an updated climate adaptation and resilience plan to support the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of meeting the impact of climate change so that all are benefited.
