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Climate Change Business Journal Market Intelligence on Climate Change 4Th Quarter 2015

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Climate Change Business Journal Market Intelligence on Climate Change 4Th Quarter 2015 Volume IX, No. 10-12 Fourth Quarter 2015 Local Governments put U.S. Local Government Market for Adaptation on Their (Long) Climate Resilience Consulting To-do Lists While most projects are still small, the local government market for climate “Resilience” is the word, as foundations, resilience and adaptation services is evolving rapidly. Larger consulting projects can NGOs and federal agencies provide exceed $500,000, and hundreds of millions are going to food protection projects assistance and funding and new risk in vulnerable regions, especially New York. Active frms typically report fve to 10 drivers for public and private property FTEs engaged in U.S. climate resilience work. Changing analyses of food risks and owners emerge risk-based valuations of coastal property are expected to drive new investment. itigating risks and managing Profle: Moffatt & Nichol takes leads in CA coastal resilience 8 potential hazards are some of NGOs, foundations and federal agencies provide funding for resilience 10 the most important functions Mof local governments and public infra- Living shorelines provide erosion control and shoreline stabilization 13 structure and resource managers. Climate Green infrastructure increases in popularity as stormwater management tool 17 change is already starting to amplify the The Nature Conservancy partners with frms to advance resilience measures 20 weather-related risks and hazards they and their communities face, and the pro- Profle: Arup improves resilience for NY and other coastal cities 23 jected impacts over the coming decades Profle: Dewberry takes on sea level rise 26 are truly ominous. Profle: Milone & MacBroom provides climate risk assessments and resilience But it’s inherently difcult for elected planning for coastal Northeastern communities 29 and appointed ofcials to invest now to prepare for risks that are uncertain and Profle: Stanley Consultants focuses on food mitigation 31 years or decades away. Without an obvious AquaFence gains traction in food product market 32 beneft, most of their constituents would Q&A: David Ford Consulting Engineers 34 rather not pay more taxes or higher rates for big upgrades to their infrastructure and measures. Changing federal and state in resilience is in planning, design and en- or public amenities. And lacking federal policies and incentives are in some cases gineering that will allow communities to money for infrastructure, local govern- pushing local governments to incorpo- withstand and continue functioning dur- ments are already hard pressed to keep up rate climate impacts like sea level rise in ing fooding, droughts and other extreme with existing needs. planning, while new opportunities to price weather events. climate risk into private property valua- “A reality for most elected ofcials “If you want to maintain a shoreline tion may be emerging. is that we live in a world that is highly neighborhood that’s already food prone reactive and not highly strategic,” said In many cases, “climate change” is not and increasingly at risk from sea level rise, Linda Langston, a county supervisor of highlighted in RFPs or new program you can become more resilient through Linn County, Iowa, and chair of the Na- announcements. Instead, the broader measures such as elevating homes, tional Association of Counties’ Resilient concept of resilience—one more readily improving drainage and even elevating Counties Initiative. “Getting local elected grasped by climate science skeptics—is critical access roads,” said David Mur- ofcials to look at climate change in a being embraced by funders ranging from phy, coastal resilience lead for consulting more strategic format is hard to do, but FEMA and HUD to the Rockefeller, engineering frm Milone & MacBroom, it’s required.” Barr and Kresge foundations. which has performed coastal resilience studies for several New England com- Local governments—often with help While the dictionary defnition means munities. from consulting frms and NGOs—are “the capacity to recover quickly from fnding ways to fund adaptation planning difculties,” most of the new investment A coastal risk resilience study for a CLIMATE RESILIENCE 2 Climate Change Business Journal Market Intelligence on Climate Change 4th Quarter 2015 CLIMATE CHANGE BUSINESS JOURNAL® small town is a small project, with fees town to do vulnerability and risk assess- ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, accord- ments followed by adaptation strategies,” ing to Murphy and others working in this Vol. 9, No. 10-12 said Indrani Ghosh, head of Kleinfelder’s ISSN 1940--8781 niche. But the projects identifed in such climate change group. Fourth Quarter 2015 studies can be major—and the studies State funding for resilience and adap- themselves give a community a leg up in tation remains sparse, yet opportunities Editor- in-Chief getting FEMA, HUD or other grants for like Massachusetts’ CZM grants can be Grant Ferrier resilience projects. “If there’s a budget in found. In California, the state’s fourth the planning phase [of a resilience study], Senior Editor climate assessment included a $4.5 mil- we can do some concept-level design, and Jim Hight lion RFP for contractors to help build the we can help the towns apply for grants,” capacity of local governments to plan for Managing Editor said Murphy. “We’ve helped some of our climate change impacts. Barrier islands in Florida protect the coastline andLynette infrastructure Thwaites from fooding; the Seven50clients Prosperity apply for Plan FEMA, a HUD grants Regional or HUD Planning grant project, focused on climate resilience CDBG grants for resilience projects, and Consultants often volunteer a portion Contributing Editors HUD is committed to helping communities recover from PREPARING COMMUNITIES FOR THE RISKS AND some have been successful.” of their time to help with their govern- Adriana Blair OPPORTUNITIES OF A CHANGING CLIMATE natural disasters and be more mentresilient clients’ togrant future applications. shocks Ghosh George Stubbs Consulting engineering frm Klein- and stresses. Most recently, in 2014,told CCBJ HUD that launched her frm has the received fees Natural disasters are occurringBrian more Runkel frequently and are felder has helped client communities in Charles Helget $1 billion National Disaster Resilienceand donated Competition time to help inclients order respond increasingly severe. All levels of government, individual Massachusetts work through the state’s Andrew Paterson to expand opportunities for eligibleto resilience states grant and RFPs—and jurisdictions they’ve to households, and businesses are shouldering the high cost of Coastal Zone Management funding Walter Howes employ innovative approaches toassisted resilience in writing and their recovery. clients’ own RFPs disaster recovery. Communities areTom lookingAarts for new ways to program, which ofers “grants ranging for professional services to implement become more resilient to these changes and challenges. from $50,000 to $70,000 for cities and Subscriber Services WHAT IS…? Planning for severe weather andCeleste other Ferrier climate changes Preparing Communities for a Changing Climate increases the safety of neighborhoods and improves a Moe Wittenborn CLIMATE The ability to prepare for and adapt to changing community’s ability to recover quickly after an event, conditions; and to withstand, respond to, and RESILIENCE recover rapidly from disruptions reducing losses and costs. WhileClimate disasters Change are Business expensive Journal® for newsletter is published in quarterly everyone, they have the most devastating effects on low- and HAZARD Taking action before the next disaster to reduce feature editions and special MITIGATION human and financial consequences later moderate-income families and householdssupplements by withoutEnvironmental the personal resources to bounce back. Resilience is the result of Business International Inc., 4452 CLIMATE Adjusting natural or human systems in a changing careful planning efforts rooted inPark an Blvd., awareness Suite 306, of San community Diego, environment that reduces negative effects and ADAPTATION takes advantage of opportunities assets and vulnerabilities. NaturalCA 92116.hazards 619-295-7685 and climate or email [email protected] change do not recognize political boundaries. Inter- © 2015 Environmental Business jurisdictional collaboration and regional planning are International Inc. All Rights Reserved. BY THE NUMBERS essential to becoming resilient toThis a publicationchanging or climate.any part may not be duplicated, reprinted or A critical component of HUD’srepublished mission without for thethe express past 50 Increase in rainfall during heaviest storm events years has been to support planningwritten permission and urban of the publisher. 70% in the Northeastern U.S. region (1958-2010) development efforts that expand opportunity for How to subscribe Americans. The Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) Reduction in average stream flows in major Annual subscriptions are $495 for Southwestern rivers and basins since 2001 grants awarded in 2010 and 2011individual constitute or single-use HUD’s subscriptions; most 37% comprehensive community and regionalcorporate electronic planning subscriptions effort in decades. HUD’s SCI awarded fundingstart at $795to 143 (up tocommunities 5 users). To Spent on mitigation saves an average of $4 in through Regional Planning Grantsorder and or forCommunity more information Challenge call $1 recovery costs following a natural disaster (619) 295-7685 x
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