North Bay vision of a sustainable highway from the Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge.
Ready to Wade into the Weeds?
Want to learn more about the research and legwork your local governments and California agencies have done to prepare for climate change? How have they assessed the risk to people and property? Where do we need to start in terms of adaptation, before it’s too late?
If you can wade through the technical jargon and gobbledygook, there is some solid, useful stuff in these pages and projects. See also AcclimateWest’s resource page on State & Local Programs, and our Watch, Read & Learn list.
Fall 2020 Shortlist
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
Most relevant recent reports & tools
A regional sea level rise vulnerability and adaptability study, including 13 local assessments and case studies. Explorer tool to find impacts local to you. Adapting to Rising Tides, SF Bay Conservation & Development Commission
Rather than wait for a natural disaster, the Bay Area proactively reimagined a more resilient future, resulting in a variety of designs for local adaptation of shoreline communities and landscapes. Resilient by Design| Bay Area Challenge 2017-2018
Scientists and planners identify 30+ best places for nature-based adaptation around the Bay Area, and how to work with nature in these areas to make the region more resilient. San Francisco Estuary Institute-SFEI & San Francisco Planning and Urban Research-SPUR
Interactive scenario building board games have been developed for the Marin County Bayshore and San Francisco waterfront. Each are designed to help communities make difficult collaborative decisions about what to protect in the future.
Regional efforts to increase the acreage of baylands and wetlands to 100,000 for a healthier San Francisco Estuary ecosystem are succeeding. These wetlands will provide important flood buffers to shorelines, but also need room and resources to adapt to sea level rise. San Francisco Estuary Institute & Partners
A regional plan by regional agencies weaving together transportation, housing, economic and environmental strategies, alongside an expanded set of growth geographies, to advance critical climate and equity goals.Association of Bay Area Governments-ABAG & Metropolitan Transportation Commission-MTC
What danger to extreme storms pose to the Bay Area economy today? Economic outlook on local climate change impacts. Bay Area Economic Council
Counties and cities have their own wildfire plans but this analysis looks at wildfire hazard in the region, assesses existing wildfire hazard maps, and reviews various Bay Area fire planning documents. Association of Bay Area Governments, Resilience Program
Most relevant & recent reports & tools
The fourth in a series of assessments offering a scientific foundation for understanding climate-related vulnerability at the local scale and informing resilience actions, while also directly informing State policies, plans, programs, and guidance. Governor’s Office of Planning & Research, California Natural Resources Agency & California Energy Commission
A synthesis of the best available science on sea-level rise projections and rates for California; a step-by-step approach for state agencies and local governments to evaluate those projections in planning and permitting; and examples of preferred coastal adaptation approaches. California Natural Resources Agency & California Ocean Protection Council
A roadmap of the ongoing actions by California’s state government to make its people, economy, and environment more resilient to the impacts of climate change. California Natural Resources Agency
NATIONAL & GLOBAL
Key Baseline Reports
International scientific agreement on climate change projections and impacts.
Review of 16 national-level topics, application to 10 regions, and discussion of societal response strategies (mitigation and adaptation). US Global Change Research Program, 13 US Agencies
Many other organizations provide excellent comprehensive listings, the above is just a short list. But feel free to email us if you would like to submit a report or tool for our list, or link your program to our website.