addressing climate change adaptation in regional transportation plans

State-of-the-Practice Climate Change Adaptation Activities for California MPOs and RTPAsAppendixPreparing for the Changing Climate: a Northeast-Focused NeedsAssessmentThis effort provides a “snapshot” of an entire region - from Maine to NewJersey – of what actions agencies are taking to prepare for climate change on thelocal, state, and regional levels. Methods used include interviews andquestionnaires administered to over 200 communities.Responses were received from 34 local governments, six regional governments,and four state governments. The largest concerns among these respondents arerelated to sea level rise, more precipitation and floodplain changes, and publichealth. Many communities need technical assistance doing infrastructurevulnerability assessments. Other needs include climate impact assessments, localclimate data maps that project sea-level rise, and updated floodplain maps.Additional needs relate to outreach; many expressed a need to helpcommunicate the message that climate change is happening. They wanted toknow how to make the climate change actions a priority during financial hardtimes. Given these financial hard times, resources and staff to dedicate to thistopic are difficult so a common approach is to ask all departments to put a“climate lens” on their projects. Alternatively, hiring an outside consultant withclimate change expertise would take the pressure of extra tasks off internal staff.Atlantic Canada Climate Change Adaptation StrategyIn 2008, the New Brunswick Department of the Environment and NaturalResources Canada (NRCan) hosted a workshop on climate change adaptation forthe governments in Atlantic Canada. The product that emerged was a regionaladaptation strategy with a focus on improving adaptability and resilience in theregion, incorporating adaptation into new and existing plans, and creating aregional collaboration framework.The provincial governments of Atlantic Canada used a workshop format todiscuss their priorities and goals with regard to climate change adaptation.Three priorities were central to this event: coastal areas, inland waters, andinfrastructure. The following three objectives were the outcome of theworkshop:1. Improve the region’s resiliency and adaptability;2. Incorporate adaptation into new and existing plans; and3. Create a framework for regional collaboration.The Atlantic Canada Climate Change Adaptation Strategy was created at theworkshop. The Atlantic Climate Adaptation Solutions (ACASA), the partnershipamong governments from the Atlantic provinces of Canada, then applied for andwere awarded a grant from NRCan. Work was scheduled to start in early 2010with a completion date in December 2012. The grant specified that the recipientsmust address climate change impacts affecting the region, with a focus onB-10 Cambridge Systematics, Inc.