Legislation that would require a coordinated response from state agencies to the changes brought about by global warming passed a key committee in the State Senate. Assembly Bill 1482, which will require the Natural Resources Agency and the Strategic Growth Council to oversee and coordinate state agency and department actions to adapt to climate change impacts, was approved by the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee today. The bill is authored by Assembly Member Richard Gordon and co-sponsored by Audubon California.

The bill now moves on to the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

While much of the talk around climate change centers around the necessary goal of reducing the global greenhouse gases that cause global warming. But the other side of the coin is the need to prepare for the changes that are already occurring, and that will continue to occur, as a result of climate change. We know that rising sea levels, the shifting snowpack, and extreme weather events will have significant impacts on people. Future droughts will be more frequent and severe due to climate change. The only prudent course is to take action now toward adaptation even as we continue to work to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions.

Audubon California believes that both the Natural Resources Agency and Strategic Growth Council are crucial to the implementation of a statewide climate adaptation strategy. Both agencies administer several statewide climate change programs. A comprehensive and coordinated adaptation effort will be just as important as our efforts to mitigate climate change impacts – the lives of Californians and our State’s biodiversity depend on it.