EPA ISSUES DRAFT CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PLAN

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
2/8/13

Many of the Environmental Protection Agency’s programs could be adversely affected by climate change in the coming decades and the agency must do its part to begin planning for that impact, EPA said this week. In a draft climate change adaptation plan published in the Federal Register Feb. 8, EPA said it will review its current programs—and their vulnerability to climate change—and identify specific actions the agency can take to integrate climate adaptation into its operations. “The global climate is changing, and the impacts of this change are being felt across the United States and the world,” EPA states in the 55-page document, now open to public review. “These impacts pose new challenges to EPA as it strives to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment.”

The draft plan says it is “essential” for EPA to adapt to the climate change in order to continue fulfilling the agency’s mandate to protect the country’s air and water systems, as well as public health. “It is vital that the EPA anticipate and plan for future changes in climate and incorporate considerations of climate change into many of its programs, policies, rules and operations to ensure they remain effective under future climatic conditions,” according to the report.

The document says EPA has not yet conducted a detailed quantitative analysis of the vulnerability of its operations and programs to climate change, but it does briefly detail the impact global warming could have on some agency regulations. Based on a review of peer-reviewed scientific literature, EPA says rising temperatures could raise tropospheric ozone pollution levels, which could make it more difficult for some areas of the country to reach National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone. Climate change could also worsen the quality of indoor air and increase particulate matter levels due to the increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, which would complicate EPA efforts to protect public health, according to the report. The increase of extreme temperatures, sea level rise and ocean acidification could also affect the country’s water systems, EPA outlined, and negatively impact drinking water and increase pollutant loads in runoffs. 

Climate Mention Expected in State of the Union 

The plan comes less than a week before President Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. Climate change is expected to get play in the speech following surprise remarks the president made on the subject during his Jan. 21 inaugural address, a move that delighted environmentalists after his presidential campaign barely broached the issue last year. “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” Obama said in his inaugural address. “Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, crippling drought and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But American cannot resist this transition. We must lead it.”