The Impacts of Climate Change on Connecticut Agriculture, Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Public Health
In accordance with Section 7 of Public Act 08-09, the Governor's Steering Committee on Climate Change formed an Adaptation Subcommittee to assess the impacts of climate change in Connecticut on the following areas: (1) infrastructure, including buildings, roads, railroads, airports, dams, reservoirs, and sewage treatment and water filtration facilities; (2) natural resources and ecological habitats, including coastal and inland wetlands, forests and rivers; (3) public health; and (4) agriculture. The Subcommittee is co-chaired by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Nature Conservancy.
Four separate reports are bundled into this state-wide risk assessment focused on agriculture, infrastructure, natural resources, and public health. Each report contains a detailed risk assessment consisting of relevant climate drivers, the risk assessment process used, findings, and adaptation strategies.
With the conclusion of the climate change impacts assessment phase, the Adaptation Subcommittee developed recommended adaptation strategies for the most impacted areas of Connecticut agriculture, infrastructure, natural resources, and public health sectors. For more information, the resulting 'Connecticut Climate Change Preparedness Plan' is reviewed in this clearinghouse.
In developing this assessment, the state relied on projections and analysis developed by the New York Panel on Climate Change (NPCC 2009) and on the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA; Frumhoff et al. 2007).
Publication Date: April 2010
- Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP)
- New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC)
- Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA)
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
- Agriculture and food
- Biodiversity and ecosystems
- Land use and built environment
- Public health
- Policy analysis/recommendations
- Air quality
- Air temperature
- Extreme storms and hurricanes
- Heat waves
- Permafrost melt
- Precipitation changes
- Sea-level rise
- Water quality
- Water supply
- Water temperatures