NASA has unveiled an updated Climate Adaptation Plan, enhancing the US government’s National Climate Resilience Framework.
This plan aims to coordinate climate resilience investments across public and private sectors by promoting shared principles and collaborative opportunities, it noted.
The space agency is one of 20 federal agencies to update its Climate Adaptation Plan, with NASA administrator Bill Nelson noting that it is “strengthening [its] climate resilience to ensure humanity is well-prepared for the effects of climate change. NASA’s decades of Earth observation are key to building climate resiliency and sustainability across the country and the world.”
Climate observation
NASA plays an important role in climate observation, providing researchers with data from its satellites and other assets, as well as research about climate systems.
To ensure coastal flooding, extreme weather events, and other climate change impacts do not hinder the agency’s work, NASA said that it is improving its climate hazard analyses and developing plans to protect key resources and facilities.
“As communities face extreme heat, natural disasters and severe weather from the impacts of climate change, President Biden is delivering record resources to build climate resilience across the country,” added Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “By updating our own adaptation strategies, the federal government is leading by example to build a more resilient future for all.”
Climate Adaptation Plan
NASA released its initial Climate Adaptation Plan in 2021, releasing an update the following year on its efforts to achieve its adaptation targets.
In conjunction with White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Management and Budget, it, along with other agencies, have updated their Climate Adaptation Plans for 2024 to 2027, targeting measures such as vulnerability to climate hazards like extreme heat, precipitation, sea-level rise, and wildfires using historical data and future projections; expanding its focus to include federal employees and the management of federal lands and waters; and integrating climate resilience into agency policies, programs, planning, and budgets.
NASA said that it is aligning these efforts with Biden-Harris Administration priorities such as environmental justice, Tribal Nations engagement, and nature-based solutions. The plan also introduces standardised indicators to monitor adaptation progress across federal agencies in the US, ensuring accountability and effectiveness in climate resilience strategies. [Photo: NASA images by Reto Stöckli, based on data from NASA And NOAA]
