Researchers are proposing a new strategy for local governments to make municipalities more resilient against climate change. The \u201ccompounded resilience\u201d strategy lays out how local governments can take advantage of opportunities to both limit adverse impacts of climate change on their communities and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLocal governments are already dealing with the impacts of climate change,\u201d says Christopher Galik, corresponding author of a paper introducing the strategy and a professor of public administration at North Carolina State University. \u201cThere are more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and flooding, which force municipalities to make decisions about how, where and \u2013 in some cases \u2013 whether to rebuild. The changing climate is also influencing where people want to live, forcing some municipalities to make decisions about how and where new development will take place to accommodate a growing population.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of these development and redevelopment decisions represent an opportunity for local governments to adopt policies that better prepare infrastructure and neighborhoods for the new conditions driven by climate change,\u201d says Georgina Sanchez, co-author of the paper and director of research engagement in NC State\u2019s Center for Geospatial Analytics. \u201cPolicies designed to incentivize adaptation strategies that make communities more resilient to flooding or other increasing challenges can be intentionally linked with efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change itself. This combined approach is what we call \u2018compound resilience.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInstituting new policies and regulations that govern zoning, construction requirements, and so on, can be expensive and politically challenging,\u201d Sanchez says. \u201cBut if communities are already having to build or rebuild in response to climate change, implementing compound resilience policies may be more feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are already seeing municipalities compete to attract people and businesses displaced by climate change, so there is an incentive for local governments to present themselves as being safe places for people to move and invest,\u201d Galik says. \u201cOn the other hand, we find that, if nothing else changes, climate-driven shifts in where people live could actually increase greenhouse gas emissions. The argument we are making here is that there is both a need and an opportunity to adopt compound resilience policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese are policies that can help communities grow while improving quality of life,\u201d Galik says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor example, we know that incorporating greenhouse gas efficiency measures into new construction is substantially less expensive than retrofitting existing structures,\u201d says Sanchez. \u201cThese measures improve energy efficiency and ultimately reduce costs for property owners. Thinking about these ways to improve efficiency at the same time we are thinking about ways to build climate resilience, such as fire resistance or flood mitigation, present tremendous advantages for local governments and the people who call those places home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The paper, \u201cCompounded Resilience: A Step Towards Achieving Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in the U.S. Built Environment<\/a>,\u201d is published open access in the journal Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This post was originally published<\/a> in NC State News.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n Researchers are proposing a new strategy for local governments to make municipalities more resilient against climate change. The \u201ccompounded resilience\u201d strategy lays out how local governments can take advantage of opportunities to both limit adverse impacts of climate change on their communities and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLocal governments are already dealing with the impacts of climate change,\u201d says Christopher Galik, corresponding author of a paper introducing the strategy and a professor of public administration at North Carolina State University. \u201cThere are more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and flooding, which force municipalities to make decisions about how, where and \u2013 in some cases \u2013 whether to rebuild. The changing climate is also influencing where people want to live, forcing some municipalities to make decisions about how and where new development will take place to accommodate a growing population.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll of these development and redevelopment decisions represent an opportunity for local governments to adopt policies that better prepare infrastructure and neighborhoods for the new conditions driven by climate change,\u201d says Georgina Sanchez, co-author of the paper and director of research engagement in NC State\u2019s Center for Geospatial Analytics. \u201cPolicies designed to incentivize adaptation strategies that make communities more resilient to flooding or other increasing challenges can be intentionally linked with efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change itself. This combined approach is what we call \u2018compound resilience.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInstituting new policies and regulations that govern zoning, construction requirements, and so on, can be expensive and politically challenging,\u201d Sanchez says. \u201cBut if communities are already having to build or rebuild in response to climate change, implementing compound resilience policies may be more feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are already seeing municipalities compete to attract people and businesses displaced by climate change, so there is an incentive for local governments to present themselves as being safe places for people to move and invest,\u201d Galik says. \u201cOn the other hand, we find that, if nothing else changes, climate-driven shifts in where people live could actually increase greenhouse gas emissions. The argument we are making here is that there is both a need and an opportunity to adopt compound resilience policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese are policies that can help communities grow while improving quality of life,\u201d Galik says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor example, we know that incorporating greenhouse gas efficiency measures into new construction is substantially less expensive than retrofitting existing structures,\u201d says Sanchez. \u201cThese measures improve energy efficiency and ultimately reduce costs for property owners. Thinking about these ways to improve efficiency at the same time we are thinking about ways to build climate resilience, such as fire resistance or flood mitigation, present tremendous advantages for local governments and the people who call those places home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n