The Georgetown Climate Center has compiled data on steps each state is taking to address and adapt to the effects of climate change. The data have turned into a list — a short one! — of all the states that have actual plans in place.
Maryland can proudly count itself among the just 14 states that have “fully fledged adaptation plans with specific goals in place.”
“Climate adaptation goals” are various and tailored to each region. One goal might be to build sea walls, or to move key facilities out of flood zones. Another might be to reduce the effects of urban heat islands. With that in mind, ranking states by raw number of goals — and number completed or in-progress — is a little crude. But it gives us some sense of how relatively prepared we will be.
California leads the union with 251 of its 345 goals in-progress and 48 completed. Maryland comes in seventh with 107 of its 174 goals in-progress and just 6 completed.
That having completed just six goals (since Gov. Martin O’Malley established the Maryland Commission on Climate Change in 2007) puts us seventh out of 50 is pretty scary. Especially since our completed goals include things like “Establish a committee to advise on risks of climate change to insurance” and “Investigate climate impacts on energy needs.”
It’s rarefied air up here among states with a climate change plan, but let’s not rest on our laurels!
