Experience of Climate Change Adaptation in the State of California (USA)

As part of the discussion of the regional climate adaptation strategy, projected climate changes and their consequences for natural resources, the social sphere and climate-dependent sectors of the economy of the state of California (USA) are considered. In this context, sectoral adaptation strategies were analyzed (increasing efficiency in forestry and agriculture, water resources management, biodiversity conservation, development of the healthcare system, increasing the sustainability of energy and transport systems, emergency and risk management in the coastal zone). For each of these areas, the most important challenges caused by climate warming are considered, and the main goals are identified, the achievement of which can mitigate the consequences of global climate change. The following are identified as priority types of adaptation measures: strengthening the coastline and protecting coastal infrastructure in the coastal zone; implementing thinning, deadwood removal, and controlled fires in mountainous areas of the northern and central parts of the state; imposing restrictions on water use and introducing water-saving technologies in agricultural and urban areas of the central and southern parts of the state; improving flood protection infrastructure near major rivers; development of green spaces and improvement of water and energy infrastructure on urbanized lands; introduction of light- and heat-reflecting building materials in cities. The analysis identifies advantages and disadvantages of California’s climate policy. The advantages include: a developed institutional risk management system, well-established interaction between departments in the development of adaptation programs, a high-quality system for collecting climate information, organizing and conducting monitoring studies, effectively built cooperation between science and practice. The disadvantages include: the declarative nature of sectoral strategies with departmental recommendations that do not take into account local specifics, insufficient consideration of territorial features (spatial heterogeneity of the geographical environment) and the actual refusal to use the landscape approach in the form of physiographic/ecosystem zoning in the development of adaptation measures.

1. Anderegg W.R.L., Hicke J.A., Fisher R.A., et al. Tree mortality from drought, insects, and their interactions in a changing climate. New Phytol., 2015, vol. 208, no. 3, pp. 674–683. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13477

2. Bailey R.G., Hogg Н.С. A world ecoregions map for resource reporting. Environ. Conserv., 1986, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 195–202.

3. Barnett T.P., Pierce D.W., Hidalgo H.G., Bonfils C., Santer B.D., Das T., Dettinger M.D. Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the western United States. Science, 2008, vol. 319, no. 5866, pp. 1080–1083. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152538

4. Bedsworth L., Cayan D., Fisher L., Ziaja S., et al. Statewide Summary Report. California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment. 2018. 116 p.

5. Berg N., Hall A. Increased interannual precipitation extremes over California under climate change. J. Clim., 2015, vol. 28, no. 16, pp. 6324–6334. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00624.1

6. California Adaptation Planning Guide 2020 Update. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, 2020. 110 p.

7. California Adaptation Planning Guide 2020 Update. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, 2020. 280 p.

8. California Adaptation Planning Guide. Mather: The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, 2012. 192 p.

9. California Climate Adaptation Strategy. California Natural Resources Agency, 2009. 92 p.

10. California Forest Carbon Plan. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, California Environmental Protection Agency, California Natural Resources Agency, 2018. 178 p.

11. California State Wildlife Action Plan. California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2015. 803 p.

12. California Transportation Plan 2040. Department of Transportation, 2016. 131 p.

13. California California Water Plan 2013 Update. California Department of Water Resources. Vol. 1, 2013. 407 p.

14. California Water Plan 2018 Update. California Department of Water Resources, California Natural Resources Agency, 2018. 98 p.

15. California Water Plan 2023 Update. California Department of Water Resources, California Natural Resources Agency, 2023. 407 p.

16. Caltrans Activities to Address Climate Change: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Adapting to Impacts. California Department of Transportation, 2013. 102 p.

17. Climate Change Consortium for Specialty Crops: Impacts and Strategies for Resilience. California Department of Food and Agriculture, 2013. 76 p.

18. Climate vulnerability monitor: A guide to the cold calculus of a hot planet. In DARA and the Climate Vulnerable Forum Climate Vulnerability Monitor. Madrid-Geneva, 2012, pp. 17–19.

19. Farber D.A. The challenge of climate change adaptation: Learning from national planning efforts in Britain, China, and the USA. J. Environ. Law, 2011, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 359–382.

20. Griggs G., Árvai J., Cayan D., et al. Rising Seas in California: An Update on Sea-Level Rise Science. California Ocean Science Trust, 2017. 102 p.

21. Indicators of Climate Change in California. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, 2018. 104 p.

22. IPCC. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Pachauri, R.K., Reisinger A., Eds. Geneva: IPCC, 2007. 104 p.

23. IPCC. Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer, Eds. Geneva: IPCC, 2014. 163 p.

24. Judge J., Newkirk S., Leo K., et al. Case Studies of Natural Shoreline Infrastructure in Coastal California: A Component of Identification of Natural Infrastructure Options for Adapting to Sea Level Rise (California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment). Arlington: The Nature Conservancy, 2017. 38 p.

25. Knowles N., Dettinger M.D., Cayan D.R. Trends in snowfall versus rainfall in the western United States. J. Clim., 2018, vol. 19, no. 18, pp. 4545–4559. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI3850.1

26. Leonard M., Pisani-Ferry J., Shapiro J., Tagliapietra S., Wolf G. The geopolitics of the European Green Deal. Vestn. Mezhdun. Organ., vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 204–235. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17323/1996-7845-2021-02-10

27. Lyzhin D.N. U.S. Climate policy: issues and prospects for global leadership. Probl. Nats. Strategii, 2021, no. 3, pp. 221–245. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.52311/20793359_2021_3_221

28. Medvedkov A.A. Adaptation to climate changes: global ecological and economic trend and its significance for Russia. Vestn. Mosk. Univ., Ser.: Estest. Nauki, 2018, no. 4, pp. 11–19. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.18384/2310–7189-2018-4-11-19

29. Medvedkov A.A., Kotova M.V. Fire-fighting capability of forests in water protection zone of lake Baikal (case study of Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve). Izv. Akad. Nauk, Ser. Geogr., 2020, vol. 84, no. 5, pp. 764–775. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556620050118

30. Mote P.W., Li S., Lettenmaier D.P., Xiao M., Engel R. Dramatic declines in snowpack in the western US. Npj Clim. Atmos. Sci., 2018, vol. 1, no. 2. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-018-0012-1

31. Nikulichev Yu.V. Global’nye klimaticheskie izmeneniya. Novye vyzovy i geografiya izmenenii: spetsializirovannaya informatsiya [Global Climate Change. New Challenges and Geography of Changes: Specialized Information]. Moscow: INION RAN, 2016. 45 p.

32. Pierce D.W., Barnett T.P., Hidalgo H.G., Das T., Bonfils C., Santer B.D., Nozawa T. Attribution of declining western U.S. snowpack to human effects. J. Clim., 2018, vol. 21, no. 23, pp. 6425–6444. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JCLI2405.1

33. Pierce D.W., Cayan D.R. The uneven response of different snow measures to human-induced climate warming. J. Clim., 2013, vol. 26, no. 12, pp. 4148–4167. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00534.1

34. Pierce D.W., Cayan D.R., Kalansky J.F. Climate, Drought, and Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the Fourth California Climate Assessment. California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, California Energy Commission, 2018. 86 p.

35. Pierce D.W., Cayan D.R., Thrasher B.L. Statistical downscaling using localized constructed analogs (LOCA). J. Hydrometeorol., 2014, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 2558–2585. https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-14-0082.1

36. Porfiriev B.N., Terent’ev N.E., Zinchenko Yu.V. Planning for adaptation to climate change: World experience and opportunities for sustainable social and economic development in Russia. Probl. Prognozir., 2023, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 263–273. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.47711/0868-6351-197-154-168

37. Preparing California for Extreme Heat: Guidance and Recommendations. California’s Climate Action Team, 2013. 24 p.

38. Safeguarding California Plan: 2018 Update. California Natural Resources Agency, 2018. 98 p.

39. Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk An update to the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy. California Natural Resources Agency, 2014. 112 p.

40. Statewide Summary Report. California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, 2018. 132 p.

41. Swain D.L., Langenbrunner B., Neelin J.D., Hall A. Increasing precipitation volatility in twenty-first- century California. Nat. Clim. Change, 2018, vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 427–433. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0140-y

42. Thorne J., Choe H., Boynton R., Bjorkman J., Albright W., Nydick K., Flint A., Flint L., Schwartz M. The impact of climate change uncertainty on California’s vegetation and adaptation management. Ecosphere, 2017, vol. 8, no. 12, art. e02021. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2021

43. Williams A., Abatzoglou J., Gershunov A., Guzman‐ Morales J., Bishop D., Balch J., Lettenmaier D. Observed Impacts of Anthropogenic Climate Change on Wildfire in California. Earth’s Future, 2019, vol. 7. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EF001210