Climate Resilience in New England: How Does NH Stack Up?
Climate Resilience in New England: How Does NH Stack Up?
Union of Concerned Scientists & NH Network presented a new report, Feb. 13, 2023
By Susan Richman, Wayne King & Reinmar Seidler
The Problem: It is estimated that climate change will cost the US $2 trillion a year by the end of the century. Roger Stephenson of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) notes the growing challenges in New England: “Drought conditions interrupted by intense precipitation events, invasive pests killing ash and hemlock, sunny day flooding in coastal towns, increased public health burdens due to high heat days.” Considering these impacts and more, “action to build resilience needs to be a priority of forward-looking leaders.” But such actions represent investments in the future that may be politically challenging in the short term. In a recent report, UCS analyzed the actions we’ve taken so far, on paper and in practice. They operationalized the concept of the “resilience gap” to measure the degree to which people, communities, and economic sectors are prepared (or unprepared) for climate-driven pressures. Their study helps weigh the costs of action against the costs of inaction. It shines a light on local resource inequalities that affect our ability to act.
The findings provide an assessment of "how we are doing" and adds to our knowledge of how to protect what people value, now and into the future. New England has made better progress than many of the 50 states – with the notable exception of New Hampshire, which lags behind.
The Methodology: The Union of Concerned Scientists created 15 indicator categories for assessing state policy and legislation, then used the same 15 categories to compare intentions with actions being implemented on the ground. Through the University of New Hampshire’s Sustainability Institute, UCS employed two graduate-level Summer Fellows, Jo Fields and Miriam Israel. The Summer Fellows studied each of the six New England states’ policy statements and legislation to understand goals and mandates, then interviewed government officials and environmental leaders.
The Presentation: Last week, the NH Network, in collaboration with UCS and the Sustainability Institute, presented the report assessing climate resilience and preparedness across six states. The presentation was moderated by Dr Reinmar Seidler (UMass Boston & NH Network).
The report noted that although the federal government has recently offered new funding for environmental projects and energy transition, leadership and policy remain weak at the federal level. State governments will play critical roles in accessing federal programs, mitigating future climate impacts, and adapting to changes already underway.
The report showed that five New England states are beginning to acknowledge changes already occurring, and are working to mitigate future change by reducing their reliance on fossil fuels. Some of these actions provide important models for further state and federal action.
The NH Anomaly: Unfortunately, New Hampshire emerges as an outlier in New England, showing little action or apparent ambition to adapt proactively to climate challenges, or to slow the pace of future deterioration.
The state’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) was created in 2009 and was based on reasonable scientific evidence at the time. But, as we all know, much has changed since then, and that plan is now outdated – and even the 2009 recommendations were never implemented.
In 2021, NH created a new Department of Energy, which then released a 10-Year Energy Strategy. Field and Israel see little scientific evidence informing this 10-Year Strategy. Instead, it continues the state’s myopic habit of focusing on the short-term economic costs of action while ignoring the costs of inaction – thus failing to articulate a longer-term vision or to invest proactively in implementation.
Coastal climate impacts (sea level rise) are considered, but other resilience needs (such as preparation for extreme heat, drought, and inland flooding events) go unaddressed. What most surprised the researchers was the apparent acceptance of the status quo among agency officials, citing as their rationale “the NH difference”. The researchers found little official inclination toward a course correction despite the growing body of scientific evidence to the contrary. The Granite State remains the only New England state not to join the U.S. Climate Alliance, and to have no formal mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Summary of Findings: The UCS team hopes its findings will provide a roadmap to states for how best to reduce their resilience gaps. They applaud the political will and leadership in those states driving progress by providing resources to agencies and local governments to implement change. They sum up their final recommendations:
Use the gaps in the chart to identify priority areas for future climate action.
Monitor how policies and legislation translate into implementation. Integrate mitigation and adaptation.
Find and weed out maladaptation.
Find the gaps in equity to ensure that improvements are shared equitably among residents of different regions and income levels.
Roger Stephenson, speaking as a New Hampshire resident, provided the coda for the presentation:
“Despite hundreds of public comments urging the state to focus on renewable energy and to reduce fossil fuel emissions, NH’s 10-year Energy Strategy ignored all of those. We need a new climate action plan with measurable targets.
“We’re at an all-hands-on-deck moment with making sure citizens of NH understand and are aware of how climate change will affect them and their families and their futures. The work we do on energy moving forward will have incredibly significant ramifications for the future.”
Links & Additional information:
Guest speakers
Roger Stephenson is Northeast Regional Advocacy Director for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists and writes extensively about climate and clean energy policies in New England. He has also served as national field director for the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), senior advisor at the Environmental Defense Fund, and VP for Programs at Clean Air-Cool Planet.
Jo Field is pursuing her PhD in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at the University of New Hampshire. She gained her MS in Science Communication from Cardiff University in Wales (UK). Her graduate research focuses on the roles of community engagement and public participation in climate resilience.
Miriam Israel is a dual-degree student at The Fletcher School at Tufts University and the Harvard Divinity School studying international environmental policy, human security, and the role of faith communities in combating climate change. She has also worked at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, focusing on inclusive governance and political organizing.
The event was sponsored by the NH Network for Environment-Energy-Climate. The NH Network links citizens statewide, to share information and implement actions for a sustainable New Hampshire. Learn more at www.newhampshirenetwork.org.
The full recording of this presentation can be found at https://www.newhampshirenetwork.org/events
The full report including a state-by-state chart is available at https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2022-10/new-england-state-climate-action-assessment-full-report.pdf
Underwater: A Report of the Union of Concerned Scientists
https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/underwater
Signs of Hope and Holes: Roger Stephenson USCS
https://blog.ucsusa.org/roger-stephenson/new-england-climate-leadership-signs-of-holes-and-hope/
ISO Standards Chart
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wfdCgyRUpHl73fjofA4xsK5cED8ezQhR1p_mXU7eDmQ/edit
About the authors:
Susan Richman is on the steering committee of NH Network for Environment-Energy-Climate. She has been a teacher in New Hampshire public schools for 33 years.
Wayne King is a writer and the independent podcaster of The Radical Centrist and NH Secrets, Legends & Lore Podcasts.
Reinmar Seidler teaches courses on climate change and sustainability science at the University of Massachusetts Boston, researches the impacts of climate change on high-altitude communities in the Eastern Himalaya, and serves on the NH Network’s Steering Committee.