The President, Congress, and regulators are actively contemplating the direction of climate policy for the next several decades. Perhaps understandably, most scholars, legislators and regulators have focused on considering potential ways to prevent further climate change. However, at least some adverse climate change appears inescapable for at least the next few decades. This panel considers a vital but often neglected issue in discussions on climate change—how to best cope with and prepare for the detrimental effects of a changing climate on human health and the natural and built environment.
In particular, adaptation to climate change in the United States inevitably implicates the relationship among federal, state, and local governments in protecting health and managing natural resources. Focusing on particular regulatory matters such as adaptation funding, public health, natural resources, and natural disaster prevention and response, speakers will discuss what local governments, states, and federal agencies have been and should be doing to prepare for and manage the effects of climate change. Panelists will also discuss the implications of climate change adaptation on the relationship between federal, state, and local authorities and on constitutional federalism jurisprudence.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.