Last week, just days after the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, President Obama issued an Executive Order on climate change preparedness. The order recognizes that climate change is already impacting the United States and that “managing these risks requires deliberate preparation, close cooperation, and coordinated planning by the Federal Government, as well as by stakeholders.” The Executive Order establishes an interagency task force to work on incentivizing climate change planning by states and communities. The task force will lay the foundation for a permanent council, which will include representatives from organizations ranging from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Department of Commerce and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The task force and subsequent council are intended to support both governments and private organizations in assessing and responding to climate change risks. In addition to establishing a task force for climate change preparedness, the Executive Order emphasizes open communication of data and climate change projections to help federal, regional, and local government officials plan for specific risks and integrate climate science into their plans. It also establishes a website, Data.gov, to give these groups access to the information they need to make informed decisions. The Executive Order is in part a response to the fact that climate-related disasters such as Superstorm Sandy appear to be becoming more frequent and destructive. In light of changing climatic risk and environmental conditions, it is important that communities across the United States, particularly in high-risk areas, prepare for and take into account changing weather patterns.  Fortunately, many communities within New England are initiating discussions on climate change adaptation, including those that are partners on the NECAP project.  In line with the Executive Order, the NECAP team thinks that managing climate change risks and increasing the resilience of our communities and ecosystems requires careful preparation, cooperative and coordinated planning, and widespread stakeholder engagement. That’s why we’re working with coastal New England towns to develop and test methods for supporting more collaborative, proactive climate change adaptation. The President’s order is a big step toward intentional, informed, and coordinated climate change preparation and planning. In light of the challenges ahead, we’re glad that the Obama Administration recognizes the risks posed by climate change and is taking concrete actions to prepare the nation as a whole for its effects.  

-Madeline O'Grady, NECAP undergraduate research assistant