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Seminar: Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative

Date(s): March 25, 2009, 2:00-3:30pm

Location: 4th Floor Conference Room, Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

Contact: Neil Stiber, 202-564-1573

Presenter(s): Josh Foster (CCAP)

Description: The CCAP Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative is building resiliency to climate change impacts through community action. Climate change causes disruptions to human, natural and built systems. It disproportionately impacts poor and vulnerable populations that have limited resources to adapt. built systems, including water infrastructure, buildings and transportation systems, are vulnerable to more frequent extreme weather events. Local governments are the "first responders" to social, environmental and economic disruptions resulting from natural disasters and must anticipate, prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change while minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In partnership with government leaders from several large counties and cities, CCAP launched the Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative to: (1) Serve as a resource for local governments as they face important infrastructure and land-use decisions that affect local adaptation efforts; and (2) Empower local communities to develop and implement climate resilient strategies. The program goals and objectives for the next two to three years are to: (1) Operationalize key steps of the adaptation process with the end goal of implementing one or more specific policies and/or programs that incorporate resiliency strategies; (2) Formulate recommendations that help advance the development of national adaptation policy and/or programs that support local resiliency efforts; and (3) Disseminate findings on partners' actions and successes to inform and motivate other local communities in the U.S. and worldwide.

Josh Foster manages the Center for Clean Air Policy's (CCAP) Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative, designed to equip U.S. partner cities and counties to make effective policy and investment decisions to increase their resiliency to the impacts of climate change. He has 13 years of experience working on climate adaptation at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Science Program Office as a manager for climate research applications and services.

Seminar Category: Climate Science