The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)
developed the Regional Climate Adaptation
Framework (Framework) to assist local and regional
jurisdictions in managing the negative impacts of climate change.
The Framework provides an overview of how the Southern California
region can work together to plan and prepare for the impacts of
sea level rise, extreme heat, increasingly frequent and damaging
wildfires, and other climate-related issues. With the impacts of
severe climate hazards and issues already being felt, adaptation
planning is necessary to help individuals, communities, and
natural systems cope with the unavoidable consequences of a
changing climate. The Framework was developed over a 2-year
period, beginning in February 2019 and ending in February 2021.
SCAG worked with local municipalities, advocacy groups,
universities, and other stakeholders to assess the unique issues
affecting the SCAG region, available planning tools and
resources, scientific data, and messaging strategies. Many local
jurisdictions do not have the resources to adequately assess
their local hazards, develop effective adaptation plans, and
participate in regional planning efforts – our framework provides
jurisdictions with a roadmap to adaptation in an effort to help
build a more resilient Southern California.
As part of the overall Framework, SCAG is sharing new tools for
local jurisdictions – first, the Communication
& Outreach Strategies and Templates that can help
jurisdictions and community based organizations engage with
residents to understand better how climate related hazards are
affecting community members. Second, SCAG developed
the Southern California Climate Adaptation Planning Guide as a resource for local planning that
describes the range of climate change hazards the SCAG region is
likely to face in the coming decades.
It also describes adaptation principles geared to the region, and
outlines a general process of adaptation planning that can be
applied by any agency, no matter where they fall across the
spectrums of funding, available resources, knowledge of
vulnerabilities, and planning sophistication. It provides member
agencies, including towns, cities, counties and subregional
organizations with a compendium of tools, resources, and best
practices to efficiently advance their adaptation planning using
the best resources available.
The project was funded by the Caltrans Adaptation Planning grant
program.
