Climate Change Preparedness (E.O. 13653)

Summary

Helps the country get ready for the effects of climate change by making communities, nature, and the economy stronger and safer.

What problem does this solve?

Climate change is already causing harm through extreme heat, heavy rain, wildfires, and rising sea levels, which hurts communities and the economy. This order directs the federal government to work with state, local, and tribal leaders to plan for these risks and make smarter investments to protect people and property.

What does this order do?

Establishes the Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience

Creates a new interagency council, co-chaired by top White House officials, to coordinate climate preparedness efforts across the federal government.

Creates a task force of state, local, and tribal leaders

Forms a task force of elected officials from outside the federal government to advise on how to best support local climate resilience efforts.

Requires agencies to plan for climate risks

Mandates that all federal agencies develop, implement, and regularly update plans to manage the risks and vulnerabilities related to climate change in their operations and missions.

Modernizes federal programs for climate resilience

Directs agencies to reform policies and funding programs to encourage smarter, more climate-resilient investments and remove barriers that discourage such actions.

Provides public data and tools

Requires federal agencies to work together to provide easily accessible data, information, and tools to help all levels of government and the private sector prepare for climate change.

Manages public lands and waters for resilience

Instructs key agencies like the Departments of Defense, Interior, and Agriculture to assess and update their land and water policies to make ecosystems and communities more resilient to climate change.

Who does this affect?

Federal government agencies
State, local, and tribal governments
Communities vulnerable to climate change

What is the real world impact?

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Coordinates a national response to climate change

Creates a unified strategy for the entire federal government to address the growing risks of climate change, ensuring that different agencies work together instead of separately.

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Supports local and state efforts

Provides federal resources, data, and tools to help state, local, and tribal governments protect their own communities from climate-related disasters and build for a safer future.

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Establishes new government bodies

Forms a new Council and a Task Force to oversee climate preparedness. Some may view this as adding layers of bureaucracy, while others see it as necessary to manage a complex, long-term problem.

When does this start?

This order became effective on November 1, 2013, and sets several deadlines for federal agencies and task forces.

Agency adaptation plan updates

Agencies must complete the first update of their Adaptation Plans within 120 days of the order (around March 1, 2014).

Land and water policy assessment

Key agencies must complete an inventory and assessment of their land- and water-related policies within 9 months of the order (around August 1, 2014).

Task force recommendations

The State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force must provide its recommendations to the President within one year of the order (by November 1, 2014).

Task force termination

The State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force will end no later than 6 months after it provides its recommendations.