Abt Associates staff worked with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change – now the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions – on designing a framework for a national climate change adaptation program for the federal government.

Abt staff develop recommendations for the structure and function of this program by:

• Conducting a series of expert interviews;
• Reviewing legislative initiatives;
• Evaluating the adaptation efforts of state governments and other countries; and
• Reviewing ongoing federal government agency efforts to address climate change.

The final report included recommendations for the organization of the national adaptation program to be guided by a national adaptation coordinating committee housed in the Executive Office of the President, with sector-specific working groups and a program office. Abt staff also proposed specific components of the program, including an adaptation strategic planning initiative, a national climate service, and an adaptation research program.

The report was widely disseminated across the government and may have influenced federal government activity on adaptation.

Read more:

• Final report: Adapting to Climate Change: A Call for Federal Leadership
• Press release: Pew Center on Global Climate Change Convenes Federal Agency Dialogue Workshop Finds Leadership Key to Climate Adaptation Response
• Blog post: Mainstreaming Climate Change Across the Federal Government