A recent study, Green Building and Climate Resilience: Understanding Impacts and Preparing for Changing Climate Conditions, published by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) causes both joy and consternation to those of us in the emergency management community concerned with hazard mitigation. The study was the result of extensive research by the University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and the USGBC into the impact of climate change on buildings and the urban environment.

The focus of the study was to "identify climate-related vulnerabilities at the regional level and prioritize design, construction, and operation strategies that will increase resilience and facilitate climate adaptation." This landmark project is one of the first studies published to argue that green building approaches should include both climate change mitigation (i.e., reduction of greenhouse gas emissions) and climate change adaptation strategies (what we in the emergency management profession call "hazard mitigation").

Opportunities for Synergy

Those of us concerned about hazard mitigation in the field of emergency management are excited that the green building movement has recognized the importance of climate change adaptation as a significant part of the strategy contributing to building and community resilience. There are tremendous opportunities for synergy between climate change adaptation and hazard mitigation. To take it to its logical extension, LEED^® certification standards could eventually be extended to include reference to climate change adaptation (i.e., making the built environment more resilient to the impacts of climate-related vulnerabilities). An alliance among urban planners, design professionals, and hazard mitigation planners working together to achieve greater resilience to the effects of weather and climate would be very powerful.

An Integrated Approach

Unfortunately, the report fails to recognize the close relationship between climate change adaptation and the foundation created by 40 years of hazard mitigation planning that can serve as a basis for achieving adaptation goals. As hazard mitigation planners, we believe that climate change may cause weather and climate-related hazards to become more severe or more frequent, but for the most part not different in nature. Many communities are already addressing this in their hazard mitigation planning. The report actually suggests a climate change adaptation planning approach for use by communities without reference to ongoing hazard mitigation planning efforts. The goals of climate change adaptation and hazard mitigation, however, are the same. At Dewberry we offer our clients the added value of including climate change-related factors in the risk assessments we do as part of hazard mitigation plans.

The foundation of hazard mitigation planning techniques and methodologies, especially related to risk assessment, is completely adaptable to and compatible with climate change adaptation strategies. We would strongly encourage that communities interested in planning for climate change impacts consider the hazard mitigation planning process as a vehicle to do so.