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Preparing for Impacts
Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change
Due to increased concentrations of GHGs already accumulated in the atmosphere, Washington will likely face impacts to our forests, agriculture, snowpack, coasts, infrastructure, fisheries, and other natural resources that are vital for our economy, communities, and environment. The extent and duration of these impacts will largely be determined by our collective success in reducing future emissions of GHGs.
Many of these challenges created by changing climate and environmental conditions are similar to those we have been wrestling with for decades – water supply and quality, ecosystem health, air quality, and shoreline and habitat protection and restoration. But the rate and severity of the changes we are likely to witness in the coming years will be unlike anything Washingtonians have ever experienced. State agencies, tribal governments, and counties and cities have been developing actions plans to address and adapt to the changing climate. Ecology along with other state agencies has started planning for the impacts of climate change by developing an Integrated Climate Change Response Strategy.
The Washington King Tides Photo Initiative engages the public in documenting the highest winter tides. These naturally occurring tides, referred to as “King Tides,” occur when the sun and the moon align, causing an increased gravitational pull on the Earth’s oceans. These photos give us a glimpse of the potential impacts of
rising water levels on coastal infrastructure along Washington’s shorelines and estuaries.
> See more about Washington's King Tides Photo Initiative.
In 2009, the Washington State Legislature approved the State Agency Climate Leadership Act SB 5560, which included provisions in sections 10 through 13 for the formation of an “integrated climate change response strategy” to “better enable state and local agencies, public and private businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals to prepare for, address, and adapt to the impacts of climate change.”
> See more about the State Climate Change Response Strategy.
Topic advisory groups (TAGs) were formed to assist state agencies with the development of the state climate change response strategy. The advisory groups met from February 2010 through February 2011 to develop interim recommendations on strategies and actions Washington State should take to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The advisory groups addressed four key areas: The Built Environment, Infrastructure and Communities, Human Health and Security, Ecosystems Species and Habitats, and Natural Resources (working lands and waters). The recommendations developed by the groups form the basis for the formation of the Integrated Climate Change Response Strategy for Washington State.
> See more about Topic Advisory Group (TAG) Archive.
The Department of Ecology is currently working on developing a central clearinghouse for relevant scientific and technical information about the impacts of climate change on Washington's ecology, economy, and society.
> See more about Clearinghouse: Impacts, Preparation, Adaptation Resources.
Contact Information
Hedia Adelsman
hedia.adelsman@ecy.wa.gov
(360) 407-6222
Joanna Ekrem
joanna.ekrem@ecy.wa.gov
(360) 407-7144
