Climate Change Funding and Management
2014 | U.S. Government Accountability Office GAO
Over the past 20 years, the federal government has spent billions of dollars to address climate-related risks. Coordination and planning are critical to effective and efficient efforts.
As a result of climate-related risks, fiscal exposure for the federal government has increased in many areas, including federal property and infrastructure, supply chains, disaster aid, and federal insurance programs. Consequently, Limiting the Federal Government's Fiscal Exposure by Better Managing Climate Change Risks has been on GAO’s High Risk List since 2013. Over the past several years, federal agencies have made progress toward better organizing across and within agencies and among the various levels of government. The U.S. Global Change Research Program, for example, is a confederation of the research arms of 13 federal departments and agencies that carry out research and develop the nation’s response to climate change. In 2014, it published the National Climate Assessment report, which reviews observed and projected changes in climate in the United States, the effects of these changes, and options for responding. Link To Source
Climate Change: Selected Governments Have Approached Adaptation through Laws and Long-Term Plans
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-454
GAO-16-454: Published: May 12, 2016. Publicly Released: Jun 13, 2016.Selected governments have approached enhancing resilience through climate change adaptation, and some have aligned adaptation with broader resilience efforts (see figure). All five selected governments have enacted laws and developed long-term plans as a part of their approaches to climate change adaptation. These plans established frameworks for addressing climate risks. For example, the European…
Climate Information: A National System Could Help Federal, State, Local, and Private Sector Decision Makers Use Climate Information
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-37
GAO-16-37: Published: Nov 23, 2015. Publicly Released: Dec 8, 2015.Many federal efforts are under way, but the climate information needs of federal, state, local, and private sector decision makers are not being fully met, according to recent GAO reports, National Academies and other studies, and interviews with stakeholders. The November 2013 Executive Order 13653 on Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change calls on certain federal agencies…
Federal Supply Chains: Opportunities to Improve the Management of Climate-Related Risks
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-32
GAO-16-32: Published: Oct 13, 2015. Publicly Released: Oct 27, 2015.Selected federal agencies have identified climate-related risks to their critical supply chains to varying degrees—including not at all—based on GAO’s analysis of survey responses and adaptation plans from 24 selected agencies. According to GAO’s analysis of these plans, 12 included information on agency-specific risks, 6 acknowledged general risks, and 6 did not mention risks. In survey respo…
High-Risk Series: An Update
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-290
GAO-15-290: Published: Feb 11, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 11, 2015.Solid, steady progress has been made in the vast majority of the high-risk areas. Eighteen of the 30 areas on the 2013 list at least partially met all of the criteria for removal from the High Risk List. Of those, 11 met at least one of the criteria for removal and partially met all others. Sufficient progress was made to narrow the scope of two high-risk issues—Protecting Public Health through…
Climate Change: Better Management of Exposure to Potential Future Losses Is Needed for Federal Flood and Crop Insurance
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-28
GAO-15-28: Published: Oct 29, 2014. Publicly Released: Nov 20, 2014.Since GAO’s 2007 report on flood and crop insurance, exposure growth in hazard-prone areas has increased losses, and climate change and related increases in extreme weather events may further increase such losses in coming decades. Scientific and industry studies GAO reviewed generally found that increasing growth and property values in hazard-prone areas have increased losses to date and that cli…
More Reports Climate Change: Analysis of Reported Federal Funding
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-223
GAO-18-223: Published: Apr 30, 2018. Publicly Released: May 30, 2018.How much does the federal government really spend on climate change programs? According to Office of Management and Budget reports, federal climate change funding was $13.2 billion across 19 agencies in 2017. In the 6 agencies we reviewed, we found that 94% of their reported climate change funding went to programs that touch on, but aren’t dedicated to climate change, such as nuclear energy res…
Climate Change Adaptation: DOD Needs to Better Incorporate Adaptation into Planning and Collaboration at Overseas Installations
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-206
GAO-18-206: Published: Nov 13, 2017. Publicly Released: Dec 13, 2017.The expected impacts of weather effects associated with climate change pose operational and budgetary risks to overseas infrastructure according to the Department of Defense (DOD), but DOD does not consistently track the impacts’ estimated costs. Operational risks (including interruptions to training, testing, and missions) and budgetary risks (including costs of repairing damages) are linked to t…
Climate Change: Information on Potential Economic Effects Could Help Guide Federal Efforts to Reduce Fiscal Exposure
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-720
GAO-17-720: Published: Sep 28, 2017. Publicly Released: Oct 24, 2017.Climate-related impacts, such as coastal property damage, have already cost the federal government billions of dollars, and these costs will likely rise in the future. We found that information on the economic effects of climate change is developing and imprecise, but it can convey insights into the nation’s regions and sectors that could be most affected. As an initial step in establishing gover…
Climate Change: Improved Federal Coordination Could Facilitate Use of Forward-Looking Climate Information in Design Standards, Building Codes, and Certifications
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-3
GAO-17-3: Published: Nov 30, 2016. Publicly Released: Jan 3, 2017.The houses we live in, buildings we work in, and roads and bridges we use daily are supposed to be built to last—whatever the local forecast has in store. However, design standards and building codes generally use historical climate observations. Forward-looking climate information would help account for the changing frequency and intensity of extreme weather. Continuing to build with current…
Climate Change: Information on NOAA's Support for States' Marine Coastal Ecosystem Resilience Efforts
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-834
GAO-16-834: Published: Sep 28, 2016. Publicly Released: Sep 28, 2016.Climate assessments predict that floods and other extreme weather events will become more common and intense, putting coastal areas—which are home to more than half of the U.S. population—at risk. The wetlands, marshes, and mangroves that usually help protect coastal communities are also vulnerable. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides funding, training, and other assi…
Climate Change: HHS Could Take Further Steps to Enhance Understanding of Public Health Risks
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-122
GAO-16-122: Published: Oct 5, 2015. Publicly Released: Nov 3, 2015.Federal agencies are enhancing understanding of climate-related risks to public health by (1) supporting and conducting research, (2) providing data and informational resources, and (3) communicating about risks. The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports a portfolio of research directly related to these risks. NIH reports awarding about $6 mi…
Climate Change: USDA's Ongoing Efforts Can Be Enhanced with Better Metrics and More Relevant Information for Farmers
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-755
GAO-14-755: Published: Sep 16, 2014. Publicly Released: Oct 16, 2014.The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) climate change priorities for agriculture include, among other things, providing better information to farmers on future climate conditions. These priorities generally align with national priorities set by the Administration, which include promoting actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advancing climate science, developing tools for decision mak…
Budget Issues: Opportunities to Reduce Federal Fiscal Exposures Through Greater Resilience to Climate Change and Extreme Weather
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-504T
GAO-14-504T: Published: Jul 29, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 29, 2014.Climate change and related extreme weather impacts on infrastructure and federal lands increase fiscal exposures that the federal budget does not fully reflect. Investing in resilience—actions to reduce potential future losses rather than waiting for an event to occur and paying for recovery afterward—can reduce the potential impacts of climate-related events. Implementing resilience measures…
Climate Change Adaptation: DOD Can Improve Infrastructure Planning and Processes to Better Account for Potential Impacts
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-446
GAO-14-446: Published: May 30, 2014. Publicly Released: Jun 30, 2014.In its Fiscal Year 2012 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap, the Department of Defense (DOD) identified climate change phenomena such as rising temperatures and sea levels as potentially impacting its infrastructure, and officials at sites GAO visited or contacted noted actual impacts they had observed. For example, according to DOD officials, the combination of thawing permafrost, decreasing sea ic…
Climate Change: Energy Infrastructure Risks and Adaptation Efforts
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-74
GAO-14-74: Published: Jan 31, 2014. Publicly Released: Mar 4, 2014.According to assessments by the National Research Council (NRC) and the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), U.S. energy infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to a range of climate change impacts–particularly infrastructure in areas prone to severe weather and water shortages. Climate changes are projected to affect infrastructure throughout all major stages of the energy supply chai…
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