Alice Hill, former special assistant to President Obama and senior director for resilience policy on the National Security Council (NSC) staff, said the federal government can support state, local and tribal leaders as they make decisions when it comes to preparing for climate impacts.
“The federal government can play a role in providing the very best science so that local leaders can understand their risks,” Hill, David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Government Matters in an interview published Monday.
Federal leaders could also offer programs that help local officials deal with the impacts of climate change and provide incentives to “help people move away from risk instead of toward risk,” she added.
Hill called on federal government officials to consider climate risk in the decision-making process in order to develop resilience to climate change. One of the measures she suggested is assessing all federal investments to ensure that they are resilient to climate impacts.
She also highlighted the need to prepare for droughts, wildfires, extreme rainfall and other types of disasters that accompany rising temperatures.
On Tuesday, Sept. 22st, Potomac Officers Club will host its Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change in Industry, Government and Society Virtual Forum to define a clear picture of the challenges that the U.S. and the rest of the world are facing as well as some of the most significant questions surrounding climate change.
Dr. Renee McPherson, university director for the University of Oklahoma’s South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, will serve as the keynote speaker for the Forum to discuss the societal and ecological impacts of climate variability and change as well as its long-term impact on the health of the Earth, our national security and way of life.
Visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to register for the platform’s Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change in Industry, Government and Society on Sept. 22nd.
