February 2021
The Resilience Roundup highlights announcements, events, and funding opportunities along with links to the previous month's local, state, and national resilience news. 
Learn more about CIRCA at circa.uconn.edu
and the Resilient Connecticut Project at resilientconnecticut.uconn.edu
Resilient Connecticut Project Updates
CIRCA Launches the Resilient Connecticut Collaborative
 
The CIRCA team is excited for the launch of the Resilient Connecticut Collaborative (RCC). There are currently 19 committed members from 16 different regional and state-wide organizations. Members represent conservation, utility, real estate, historic resources, planning, agriculture, food, and environmental justice organizations. The first meeting, held in January, focused on the Climate Change Vulnerability Index and included icebreaker activities, short Resilient Connecticut project presentations, and breakout groups on a mapping tool. We incorporated several digital tools to enhance the virtual meeting experience including Microsoft Teams, Slido, and Miro. The RCC will meet 4-6 times throughout 2021. While an advisory group, the RCC is also a facilitated community of practice where members can share their organization’s goals, network with each other, and advance their understanding of climate change. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please contact Joanna Wozniak-Brown, Assistant Director of Resilience Planning, joanna.wozniak-brown@uconn.edu 
 
Updated Zones of Shared Risk Maps for Coastal Towns

Zones of shared risk maps are now updated for 14 coastal towns in the Resilient Connecticut region of New Haven and Fairfield Counties. This new update by UConn Professor Peter Miniutti and his research team includes zones of shared risk maps that consider infrastructure, hydrological, ecological, social, and institutional elements of a community. For more information about this project, please visit the Defining Zones of Shared Risk project page and download updated maps and datasets here
 

Workshops Held in Four COG Regions

The Resilient Connecticut team held their first regional workshops with four Council of Governments (COGs) in New Haven and Fairfield Counties. Workshops included two information sessions to learn about preliminary Change Vulnerability Index and Zones of Shared Risk findings. Each session was followed by small group exercises to discuss, refine, and to better understand these tools for future resilience planning efforts. The inclusion of regional stakeholder input is an important component of shaping these tools, and ultimately identifying resilience pilot projects throughout the regions. To watch workshop videos, view slides, download fact sheets, or explore preliminary map viewers, please see the workshop websiteNOTE: due to inclement weather the final MetroCOG workshop will be held Monday, February 8 - click here to register. A second regional workshop series will be held this spring so keep an eye out for the schedule in future Roundup news! 
Events
NJCCA Webinar - Advancing Health Equity in the Era
of the Climate Crisis

February 4, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Join the New Jersey Climate Change Alliance and speakers including Surili Patel, Director of the Center for Climate, Health and Equity. This webinar will provide an overview of climate change impacts on health in New Jersey, health equity in the era of the climate crisis, and the Alliance’s efforts to advance climate change and health equity.
NROC's Offshore Wind Transmission Webinar Series

February 5 - 12, 10:00 - 11:30 am

The Northeast Regional Ocean Council's Ocean Planning Committee and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Council on the Ocean, are hosting webinars to increase understanding and promote dialogue about offshore wind transmission planning in the two regions. This series will provide an opportunity to hear from experts in the electricity transmission field about important issues including the cable installation process, the role of offshore wind in meeting state decarbonization goals, the need for transmission planning to meet potential electricity generation from offshore sources, the roles of regional organizations in operating the grid, and regulatory considerations. Webinars will also include panel discussions about potential interactions with habitat, protected species, and fisheries. 
Climate Change from the Streets: Advancing Environmental Justice
and Equitable Climate Change Solutions

February 11, 5:00 - 6:30 pm

Please join the Yale School of the Environment for an online panel discussion on grassroots climate change action and environmental justice. The event celebrates panelist Michael Mendez's recently released book, Climate Change from the Streets: How Conflict and Collaboration Strengthen the Environmental Justice Movement. The panel features high-profile sustainability policymakers who will share their vision for justice-based climate change solutions and discuss how concrete policy changes can be achieved by organizers.
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions Webinar: Leveraging Nature-Based Solutions to Drive Down Emissions

February 23, 1:00 - 2:30pm

This C2ES webinar will examine how companies can use nature-based solutions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, including the most effective use of resources when investing in nature-based solutions, understanding the growing role of carbon removal in reaching net-zero emissions, and the criteria companies should consider when selecting projects. The webinar will also explore how to leverage natural solutions to reduce emissions within and outside a company.

February 23, 3:00 - 4:00 pm

As climate change and sea level rise alter salt marsh habitats, a less understood impact - with implications for human health - is how changes in marsh habitat affect the production and location of mosquito populations. In this NERRs webinar, project team members will describe how data-collection, mapping, and modeling efforts have resulted in increased clarity about marsh habitat change to inform mosquito control and coastal restoration efforts in New Jersey.

February 24, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

The pressure to protect coastal properties from storm damage and erosion due to sea level rise and coastal storms is increasing. Property owners, from residential homeowners and municipalities to commercial developments and water-dependent industries, want to know what options are available and their efficacy. This webinar will feature municipalities and practitioners discussing successes, lessons learned, and how they are approaching coastal protection and resiliency. The panel will explore the appropriateness of options ranging from traditional coastal protection, including seawalls and revetments, to “soft” protective measures and living shorelines.
Announcements
Connecticut Sea Grant Program Call for Preliminary Proposals

The Connecticut Sea Grant College Program (CTSG) has issued its call for preliminary proposals for the 2022-2024 Omnibus Funding Cycle for the funding period of Feb. 1, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2024. CTSG supports applied research in both natural and social sciences, education and outreach activities to achieve healthy coastal and marine ecosystems and consequent public benefits, focusing on Connecticut, Long Island Sound and its watershed. Applied projects with clear relevance to Connecticut’s marine and coastal resources will be given priority. Any investigator seeking support for this period must submit, as a single file, an electronic copy of their preliminary proposal by e-mail for receipt no later than 4:30 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. 
Resources
GC3's Phase 1 Report

The Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3) issued its Phase 1 Report, Taking Action on Climate Change and Building a More Resilient Connecticut for All, which assesses the state’s progress toward mitigating carbon emissions and addressing climate change adaptation and resilience, and outlines 61 near-term strategies to meet these challenges. The report is the first published in accordance with Governor Ned Lamont’s Executive Order No. 3, issued in September 2019, which expanded the GC3's scope and responsibilities to include both oversight of mitigation of carbon emissions and climate change adaptation and resilience and directed the GC3 to provide a report on implementation of these efforts annually. A full press release can be found here.
Massachusetts Decarbonization Roadmap

To achieve long-term emission reduction goals within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs is undertaking a planning process to identify cost-effective and equitable strategies to ensure Massachusetts reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least 85% by 2050 and achieves net-zero emissions. The Decarbonization Roadmap final reports were published in December, 2020.
New Report: Building Housing Security and Climate Resilience Through Community Land Trusts

Housing insecurity and the impacts of climate change are interrelated issues increasingly affecting cities across the United States. The communities most significantly burdened by housing costs and housing instability are also the most at-risk from climate impacts like worsening heat waves and extreme weather events; the COVID-19 pandemic has shed further light on the challenge of housing insecurity. Community land trusts (CLTs) can present useful partnerships to simultaneously tackle these challenges by promoting community ownership and decision-making, and providing affordable and resilient housing.
FEMA Funding Program Facts Sheet

The Coastal States Organization recently published fact sheets that concisely advise how to apply for funding from four FEMA programs --- Public Assistance, Hazard Mitigation, Building Resilience Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation. A fifth fact sheet provides a one-page synopsis that "crosswalks" these different FEMA grant programs.
State and Regional News Clips
To Guard Against Flooding, Boston Proposes Climate-Resilient Zoning
WBUR - January 4, 2021

The sea level around Boston crept up 9 inches in the 20th century. Driven by climate change, that pace is increasing, and expected to add 9 inches over the 2016 level by 2030. As a result, Boston ranks eighth in the world among metropolitan areas in expected economic losses from coastal flooding, estimated at $237 million per year between now and 2050. To cope with this threat, the city released coastal resilience design guidelines last year. Now Boston's planning agency wants to require both new developments and renovated buildings to comply with them.
NENC/America Amplified Special: What the Biden Administration Will Mean for Climate Change in New England
NENC - January 14, 2021

Severe storms. Heat waves. Rising seas. New England is already seeing the impacts of climate change, and scientists project they will become more severe and deadly, shaping how we live and work in the northeastern U.S. The New England News Collaborative and America Amplified look at climate change in our region and how President-elect Joe Biden’s administration could affect climate action in the future. Biden has proposed the most ambitious climate platform of any incoming U.S. president in history.
Connecticut Plan Lays Out Options
For Reaching Zero-Carbon Power By 2040
Energy News Network - January 13, 2021

Getting Connecticut to a zero-carbon electric supply is attainable by 2040, but it will require significant regional reforms, according to a new assessment of the state’s future energy needs. The draft Integrated Resources Plan, prepared by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, says hitting the zero-carbon target set by Gov. Ned Lamont will require reform of the ISO New England wholesale electricity markets, as well as significant upgrades to the power transmission system to better support renewable energy sources. 
12 New Books Explore Fresh Approaches to Act on Climate Change
Yale Climate Connections - January 22, 2021

The authors of the several new books released in the past few months (or scheduled to be published soon) seem to have anticipated this pivotal moment for climate change action. Authors include a scientist, an entrepreneur, and a journalist, each of whom has published among the first calls to action on climate change: Michael Mann, Bill Gates, and Elizabeth Kolbert. The solutions offered in these new titles are as often political as they are scientific and technical, and psychological as often as they are environmental.
Vehicle Emission Reduction Program Set to Start in the Northeast
AAA - January 26, 2021

The transportation sector accounts for nearly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, so any effort to reduce emissions must include a focus on this sector. “Transportation pollution is becoming a growing crisis both because of its contribution to climate change but also because of the damaging health impacts it has on communities,” said Jordan Stutt, Carbon Programs Director at Acadia Center. The Transportation and Climate Initiative has developed a new program that plans to substantially cut greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously investing billions in cleaner transportation.
National News Clips
In Norfolk, Sea Level Rise Reduces Some Stormwater System Capacity by 50%, Data Shows
The Virginia Pilot - January 3, 2021

Data shows that in some of Norfolk’s most flooded neighborhoods, the city’s stormwater system is running at about half capacity due to sea level rise, significantly hampering its ability to handle heavy rainfalls. The aim of StormSensor, a start-up based in Seattle, is to not only provide real-time alerts of when these backflow situations could become dangerous, but also to provide granular data that will help Norfolk optimize new flooding solutions.
Global Heating Could Stabilize if Net Zero Emissions Achieved, Scientists Say
The Guardian - January 7, 2021

Rapidly eliminating planet-heating emissions means global temperatures could stabilize within just a couple of decades, scientists say. For many years it was assumed that further global heating would be locked in even if emissions were rapidly cut. Climate models run by scientists on future temperatures were based on a certain carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. If this remained at the current high level there would be runaway climate disaster, with temperatures continuing to rise even if emissions were reduced because of a lag time before greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere.
Biden Moves To Have U.S. Rejoin Climate Accord
NPR - January 20, 2021

In one of his first acts in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to have the United States rejoin the Paris climate agreement, the largest international effort to curb global warming. The U.S. officially withdrew from the accord to limit climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions late last year, after President Donald Trump began the process in 2017. It is the only country of the nearly 200 signatories that has withdrawn. Biden vowed to sign on Inauguration Day the documents needed to rejoin the agreement.
‘Resilient Brevard’ Public Survey Seeks Input on Flooding Impacts
Space Coast Daily - January 21, 2021

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – “Resilient Brevard” is a project to increase Brevard County’s local resilience to the impacts of flooding. “Resilient Brevard” seeks to identify coastal vulnerabilities and develop proactive strategies, policies, and a recommended plan of action to minimize and mitigate the effects of various types of flooding. The East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (ECFRPC) is under contract with Brevard County to launch this effort.
New U.S. Strategy Would Quickly Free Billions in Climate Funds
New York Times - January 25, 2021

WASHINGTON — Federal officials, showing how rapidly the Biden administration is overhauling climate policy, aim to free up as much as $10 billion at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to protect against climate disasters before they strike. The agency, best known for responding to hurricanes, floods and wildfires, wants to spend the money to pre-emptively protect against damage by building seawalls, elevating or relocating flood-prone homes and taking other steps as climate change intensifies storms and other natural disasters.
Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy on Biden's Ambitious Climate Agenda
CBS News - January 27, 2021

President Biden has made addressing climate change a priority of his administration, signing a number of executive orders in line with his ambitious climate agenda in his first days. Those orders included rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. "We're in a crisis," Mr. Biden said in December. "We need a unified national response to climate change. We need to meet the moment with the urgency it demands, as you would during any national emergency." 
Biden to Place Environmental Justice at Center of
Sweeping Climate Plan
The Washington Post - January 27, 2021

President Biden made tackling America’s persistent racial and economic disparities a central part of his plan to combat climate change Wednesday, prioritizing environmental justice for the first time in a generation.
As part of an unprecedented push to cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and create new jobs as the United States shifts toward cleaner energy, Biden directed agencies across the federal government to invest in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of pollution.
The Resilience Roundup highlights CIRCA's presence in the news, provides links to recent local/state/national news articles related to resilience and adaptation, and announces upcoming events and seminars.
 
The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation's (CIRCA) mission is to increase the resilience and sustainability of vulnerable communities along Connecticut's coast and inland waterways to the growing impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the natural, built, and human environment. The institute is located at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus and includes faculty from across the university. CIRCA is a partnership between UConn and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP). 
State and Regional News Clips