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Climate Adaptation Bubbling Up Towards Funding

As I predicted, we are starting to see future funding opportunities coming for climate adaptation work.

I picked the quote below up from a National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) update.  While this announcement doesn't bring any "real funding" to the table it is at least in the discussion phase.  When it comes to climate impacts, disasters are going to be high on the priority list to address because of the escalating costs of these events.  Last year there were over 40 billion dollar events world-wide.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRESIDENT TO UNVEIL CLIMATE RESILIENCE FUND
The recent droughts in California and much of the Western United States, has drawn the attention from
leaders here in Washington. President Obama is traveling to California today to discuss the crippling
droughts and to announce his administration’s plan of action. While in California the Presidents plans
to unveil a proposed billion-dollar climate fund. The White House said that the “Climate Resilience Fund”
would go to research on the projected impacts of climate change, help communities prepare for climate
change’s effects and fund “breakthrough technologies and resilient infrastructure.” The administration
will stress the scientific understanding of how climate change makes events like the drought more extreme.
The White House spokesman said, “President Obama is going to continue to make the case that climate change
is already hurting Americans around the country and that it will only get worse for our children and
grandchildren if we leave it for future generations to deal with. ”Just last week the Agriculture Department
announced it would set up a series of climate hubs across the United States to study climate change’s
impacts on agriculture and rural activities and develop mitigation and adaptation measures. It remains
to be seen whether the administration can secure such a high figure from Congress for a climate fund not
likely to attract widespread Republican backing.


Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.