Evaluating climate change adaptation efforts on the US 50 states’ hazard mitigation plans

Qiao Hu, Zhenghong Tang (), Lei Zhang, Yuanyuan Xu, Xiaolin Wu and Ligang Zhang
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Qiao Hu: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Zhenghong Tang: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lei Zhang: Renmin University of China
Yuanyuan Xu: Central South University
Xiaolin Wu: Central South University
Ligang Zhang: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2018, vol. 92, issue 2, No 11, 783-804

Abstract: Abstract Climate change brings uncertain risks of climate-related natural hazards. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA in Climate change: long-term trends and their implications for emergency management, 2011. https://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/programs/oppa/climate_change_paper.pdf ) has issued a policy directive to integrate climate change adaptation actions into hazard mitigation programs, policies, and plans. However, to date there has been no comprehensive empirical study to examine the extent to which climate change issues are integrated into state hazard mitigation plans (SHMPs). This study develops 18 indicators to examine the extent of climate change considerations in the 50 SHMPs. The results demonstrate that these SHMPs treat climate change issues in an uneven fashion, with large variations present among the 50 states. The overall plan quality for climate change considerations was sustained at an intermediate level with regard to climate change-related awareness, analysis, and actions. The findings confirm that climate change concepts and historic extreme events have been well recognized by the majority of SHMPs. Even though they are not specific to climate change, mitigation and adaptation strategies that can help reduce climate change risks have been adopted in these plans. However, the plans still lack a detailed assessment of climate change and more incentives for collaboration strategies beyond working with emergency management agencies.

Keywords: Climate change; State hazard mitigation plan (SHMP); Awareness; Analysis; Action; Mitigation; Adaptation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11069-018-3225-z

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