With over 20 federal agencies, NASA has unveiled its updated Climate Adaptation Plan, aligning with the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader efforts to enhance federal operations’ resilience to climate change. This initiative is part of the National Climate Resilience Framework, which aims to harmonize climate resilience investments across both public and private sectors, fostering common principles and shared opportunities.
According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the agency’s extensive Earth observation capabilities are instrumental in enhancing climate resiliency and sustainability globally. NASA’s commitment to climate science involves providing critical data from satellites and other resources, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of climate systems. This data is essential for informing the public and advancing climate change knowledge.
NASA’s proactive stance includes maintaining an open information policy and ensuring that its science data, software, and research are accessible to all. This transparency supports global efforts to combat climate change by disseminating valuable information that can be utilized by researchers and policymakers worldwide.
Climate change poses significant risks to NASA’s mission, necessitating thorough planning and action to safeguard the agency’s operations. To mitigate the effects of coastal flooding, extreme weather events, and other climate-related impacts, NASA is enhancing its climate hazard analyses and developing robust plans to protect vital resources and facilities.
Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to building climate resilience. Through the Investing in America agenda, the administration is allocating over $50 billion to enhance community resilience and fortify protections for vulnerable populations. The federal government’s updating of its adaptation strategies exemplifies leadership in constructing a resilient future.
In response to President Biden’s Executive Order 14008, federal agencies are spearheading a whole-of-government approach to addressing climate change. This directive defines the administration’s dedication to tackling the climate crisis domestically and internationally, especially in light of the record-breaking 28 individual billion-dollar extreme weather events that occurred last year.
NASA’s Climate Adaptation Plan, initially released in 2021, has undergone significant updates in coordination with the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Management and Budget. The updated plan for 2024 to 2027 aims to better integrate climate risk into NASA’s mission, operations, and asset management.
Key enhancements include combining historical data and future projections to assess assets' exposure to climate-related hazards, such as extreme heat, precipitation, sea level rise, flooding, and wildfires. Additionally, the plan expands the operational focus to manage climate risks across facilities, supply chains, federal employees, and federal lands and waters.
NASA’s adaptation strategy now incorporates mainstreaming climate adaptation into agency policies, programs, planning, budget formulation, and external funding. The plan aligns with other Biden-Harris Administration priorities, including advancing environmental justice, the Justice40 Initiative, and supporting the America the Beautiful initiative. It also emphasizes scaling up nature-based solutions and addressing climate change causes through mitigation efforts.
