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Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional, and State Governments

Keywords / Description:

The purpose of Preparing for Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional, and State
Governments is to help decision-makers in a local, regional, or state government prepare for climate change by recommending a detailed, easy-to-understand process for climate change preparedness based on familiar resources and tools.

The guidebook begins with an introduction highlighting both the urgent responsibility and opportunity for public decision-makers to prepare for climate change now and in the coming decades. Chapter 2 provides a short overview of the science of global climate change and its projected national and regional consequences. Chapter 3 offers reasons why local, regional, and state decision-makers should prepare proactively for the impacts of climate change to their communities.

Chapters 4 through 7 provide suggestions on the critical steps to take to initiate your climate resiliency effort. Specifically, these chapters recommend how to scope the climate change impacts to your major sectors, build and maintain support among your stakeholders to prepare for climate change, build your climate change preparedness team, and identify your planning areas relevant to climate change impacts.

This guidebook also provides recommendations for conducting a vulnerability assessment, conducting a risk assessment, set preparedness goals and preparedness actions, identify a list of implementation tools, develop measures of resilience, and more.  

Toolkit:

Climate Change Toolkit

Keyword Area:

Adaptation, All-Hazards, Assessment, Climate, Environmental Health, Evaluation, Vulnerable Populations, Workforce Competency

Jurisdiction:

Institutional Author:

Center for Science in the Earth System, University of Washington

Submitted:

05/08/2012

Modified:

The NACCHO Toolbox is a repository of available resources to help local public health practitioners. Tools are produced by local, state, and federal agencies, as well as academic institutions and other stakeholders. The contents of this Toolbox are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect any official recommendations of NACCHO. NACCHO makes no express or implied warranty with respect to the contents and disclaims liability for any damages arising from or connected to the use of the material in this Toolbox.

Five most recent user comments

rating of tool
By Sandy Van Sant
very long report but pieces of it can be viewed alone. It is a very practical and useful resource.