City government agencies and organizations have started adaptation plans that focus on infrastructure systems and public health. To be successful, these adaptation efforts require cooperative private sector and governmental activities, but institutions face many barriers to implementing coordinated efforts.

This finding is from chapter 11 of Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment.

Process for developing key messages: In developing key messages, the report author team engaged in multiple technical discussions via teleconference. A consensus process was used to determine the final set of key messages, which are supported by extensive evidence documented in two Technical Report Inputs to the National Climate Assessment on urban systems, infrastructure, and vulnerability: 1) Climate Change and Infrastructure, Urban Systems, and Vulnerabilities: Technical Report for the U.S. Department of Energy in Support of the National Climate Assessment f0803451-5a89-474a-974f-99c13fdc725d, and 2) U.S. Cities and Climate Change: Urban, Infrastructure, and Vulnerability Issues .01b45a4a-2021-405d-a65b-2340e9ca9677 Other Technical Input reports (56) on a wide range of topics were also received and reviewed as part of the Federal Register Notice solicitation for public input.

Description of evidence base: Urban adaptation is already underway with a number of cities developing plans at the citya2875003-195d-4ac8-8b94-63b7618af926 fab96b98-58f0-43b2-a81c-e481b25f8e59 65812f08-b34e-422c-a712-c5a585df31e0 d320ff25-df64-4f1c-9612-d519b5e01fba f1c255b6-64cf-427b-81d4-7e0165da1304 a1e821b2-1a28-481e-9e20-fa590614b7fd and state levels,a2875003-195d-4ac8-8b94-63b7618af926 with some integrating adaptation into community plans01b45a4a-2021-405d-a65b-2340e9ca9677 and sharing information and assessing potential impacts.027aad4c-611b-48e1-89d2-da0769617f1a Some recent publications have explored how incentives and administrative and financial support can benefit climate adaptation through policy planning at the local level01b45a4a-2021-405d-a65b-2340e9ca9677 f0803451-5a89-474a-974f-99c13fdc725d d9912bac-63ce-4f5a-b247-3e4c5860d722 and by engaging the public.3053a9fd-d457-4751-87ef-1df2cc1f0df5 fb3340c9-ea83-4747-9aae-44efb39ea968 b616bf7f-4f18-41df-b67d-0229c158ffa4 4e3145d7-c3ba-457b-91ce-4ea7e0256c39 Barriers exist that can hinder the adaptation process, which has been demonstrated through publications assessing the availability of scientific dataa2875003-195d-4ac8-8b94-63b7618af926 50bb7a05-57dc-4bd5-bc8e-706ab08cfc6d that is integral to the evaluation and planning process,3aa8f188-8726-4b01-a47e-24a315c00f4e bc2ae3c0-a4e9-4e91-896e-832bf916e88b uncertainty in the climate system and modeling techniques,7bee514d-97da-4482-b5b3-0c98223962a4 41514fcf-41dc-492b-9989-cbc979fc00a2 and the challenges of gaining support and commitment from local officials.a2875003-195d-4ac8-8b94-63b7618af926 65ce3b87-d63b-4582-a9b5-f25510b64e97

New information and remaining uncertainties: Besides uncertainties associated with the rate and extent of potential climate change, uncertainties emerge from the fact that, to date, there have been few extended case studies examining how U.S. cities are responding to climate change (<10 studies). Furthermore, only one large-scale survey of U.S. cites has been conducted for which results have been published and widely available.a2875003-195d-4ac8-8b94-63b7618af926

Assessment of confidence based on evidence: Given the evidence base and remaining uncertainties, confidence is very high that city government agencies and organizations have started urban adaptation efforts that focus on infrastructure systems and public health.

References :

• Progress and Challenges in Urban Climate Adaptation Planning: Results of a Global Survey (a2875003)
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