Commissioner’s Office
Washington, DC
Media Contact: Peter Soeth, 303-445-3615
For Immediate Release: November 5, 2014
Commitment to Address Climate Change Issues Highlighted in Reclamation Climate Adaptation Strategy
Washington, DC — Bureau of Reclamation’s Principal Deputy Commissioner Estevan López has released the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Reclamation. In line with President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the strategy provides a framework in which Reclamation managers can develop and adopt innovative solutions that provide a more reliable water supply in a changing climate.
“This strategy represents our determination to directly face the challenges posed by climate change and to support our stakeholders and partners in addressing the related impacts to water supplies and power generation,” López said. “Reclamation’s work provides reliable and affordable water and power to agriculture, cities and the environment. With our stakeholders, we contribute some $64 billion and 403,241 jobs to the nation’s economy, so addressing these emerging challenges is vital.”
The strategy identifies four primary goals to improve Reclamation’s ability to consider climate change information in its decision making:
- Goal 1 – Increase Water Management Flexibility
- Goal 2 – Enhance Climate Adaptation Planning
- Goal 3 – Improve Infrastructure Resiliency
- Goal 4 – Expand Information Sharing
Building on existing actions, the strategy identifies new activities to extend climate change adaptation efforts across Reclamation’s mission responsibilities, including immediate and longer-term actions addressing each of the four goals. For each goal, a priority action is also identified to emphasize activities which will provide critical support for the goal.
“Climate change adaptations must be developed collaboratively,” López added. “Reclamation will engage water users, states, municipalities, tribes and non-governmental organizations to develop sustainable water supply solutions.”
The report is available online at www.usbr.gov/climate.
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Tags: Climate change, policy