The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2961-442a CP~ Michelle McConnell 2illPI From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Byron Rot [brot@jamestowntribe.org] Monday, March 09,20091:19 PM Michelle McConnell stodd@pnptc.org; Randy Johnson; jste461@ecy.wa.gov; hans@pgst.nsn.us Aussies considering banning new coastal development at risk to climate change FYI Byron From: Cindy Galvan [mailto:cgalvan@padillabay.gov] Sent: Friday, March 06,20093:47 PM To: Cindy Galvan Cc: cangell@padillabay.gov Subject: ClimateWire article from Spencer Reeder FROM SPENCER REEDER: ClimateWire <htto:/Iwww.climatewire.net> An E&E Publishing Service REGULATION: Storm-wary Australian officials ponder costs of coastal development (Wednesday, March 4,2009) Evan Lehmann, E&E reporter Australians are suddenly afraid of the water. It's a self-preserving response that many climate change experts say is lacking in the United States, which is pursuing policies -- in a time of rising seas -- that many believe are encouraging coastal development in storm-prone areas. New South Wales is trying something different. It is Australia's most populous state, with long coastlines and the continent's largest port city, Sydney. And it's shrinking. The ocean is expected to rise along its shores by more than 15 inches over the next 40 years, and by almost 3 feet this century. image removed Big patches of Sydney and Melbourne would be underwater if the ocean were to rise by 3 feet, which climate experts predict will happen by 2099. The forecast -- and the huge economic stakes -- has prompted officials in New South Wales, which includes Sydney, to consider tough new coastal development restrictions. Photo by Flickr user skagman <htto:/Iwww.flickr.com/ohotos/16822508(Q>.N05/2051773523/> . State officials are preparing for widespread inundation by discouraging new development along the coast, a strategy not commonly found in the United States, where shoreline properties generate valuable local tax revenues. 1 New South Wales leaders, however, believe the cost of building now -- and evacuating later -- could be an expensive burden on state budgets. So they are warning local communities to prohibit new construction projects that fail to account for advancing high tides and devastating storm surges. Long ribbons of Australian coastline could disappear this century, according to computer models. Big patches of Sydney, a city of 4.2 million people, and Melbourne, whose population is 3.8 million, would be underwater if the ocean rises by 3 feet -- as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has projected to occur by 2099. That means developers might have to look 100 years into the future before breaking ground -- at a site that is perhaps pulled back from the shore, at least for now. Infrastructure projects, like roads, would also be included in the plan. The state policy, still in draft form, offers a ripe warning to local governments that fail to heed emerging climate hazards: You're on your own when buildings become boats. In other words, the state won't pay to move or replace threatened structures. The effect is a little like putting police tape along the seashore. Building in the 'wrong places' The new plan offers a hopeful sign to experts watching the United States press forward with policies that sometimes seem to ignore scientific conclusions about climate change. The Australian plan embraces international assertions that the seas rose 6.7 inches during the last century, and accepts the idea that oceans are rising three times faster now. That does "require action," the plan states. In the United States, meanwhile, states and local governments are still allowing and sometimes even inviting construction in hazardous areas, critics assert, despite clear warnings that large sections of Florida, for example, will eventually be overrun by expanding seas. "It makes much more sense to get development out of harm's way, rather than spending money encouraging development in the wrong places," John Echeverria, executive director of Georgetown University's Environmental Law and Policy Institute, said of the contrasting policies. Rather than warning people to stay away from vulnerable areas, some U.S. policies ushering people to damage-prone areas, critics contend. Subsidized property insurance in Florida, Texas and other coastal states make it profitable -- and easy -- to construct coastal developments. The risks are concealed by premiums that many private insurers say are too low. The National Flood Insurance Program, which underwrites about 20,000 communities in low-lying areas near rivers and shorelines, does not account for climate change when drawing floodplain maps. Instead, the maps show water levels at the time of their making. (Many are being updated now.) Swiss Re, a reinsurance company, says rising property values increased construction in floodplains and that climate change has contributed to a sharp rise in insured flood losses globally. Claims totaled far less than $1 billion in 1970. They reached more than $6 billion in 2007. Transportation agencies also fail to consider rising seas and stronger winds when building new roads and other infrastructure projects, according to a recent report by Robert Repetto, a senior fellow at the U.N. Foundation. Hurricane storm surges along the Gulf Coast can already reach 23 feet in height, meaning that 64 percent of the region's interstates and 29 airports are subject to flooding, the report says. Yet federal guidelines don't require planners to consider the future effects of climate change when laying roads. Help now could hurt later 2 Australia's New South Wales seems determined to look ahead. It's peering into the future to see what its beaches and storm surge paths could look like in the years 2050 and 2100. That essentially draws a line in the sand predicting where the water will be -- and where buildings had better not be. "By providing two benchmarks," Andrew Baron, an executive officer with the NSW Department of Environment & Climate Change, explained in an e-mail, "project proponents and approval authorities will be able to assess the extent to which a particular project has accommodated sea level rise projections over the life of the project." u.s. officials, meanwhile, are trying to untie some of their own knotty questions around climate change. u.s. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) introduced a bill yesterday that would add wind coverage to the federal flood insurance program. The House approved that change in 2007, but it stalled in the Senate last year. The proposal seeks to end confusion around determining which natural force -- wind or water -- ruined a house during a hurricane. That impasse has slowed claim payment and ignited bitter disagreements between private insurers, which provide wind coverage, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees flood coverage. Yet Taylor is introducing his plan as winds are projected to intensify. That could leave taxpayers exposed to higher risks along coastlines that are growing more hazardous, opponents say. And it could mislead more people into feeling comfortable about building near the water. There's a need now, however, for affordable insurance, said Brian Martin, Taylor's chief of staff. Coastal residents saw insurance premiums spike after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Those inflated prices could be reduced if people around the country contributed to a combined wind-flood policy. Otherwise, a relatively small group of coastal residents, like those in Mississippi, are stuck with high wind premiums meant to cover a damaging storm -- even though that's unlikely to occur, said Martin. "We don't have Katrina every year," he said. "We've had it once in 300 years." 'A wildly perverse set of incentives' Britain is facing its own questions about flood insurance. The government does not subsidize premiums there, but homeowners in the dry highlands do. This helps keep premiums low and results in risks similar to those found in the United States. "That was the problem. Because insurance was available, it encouraged the building companies and the local authorities to develop in floodplains," said Andrew Dlugolecki, an insurance expert and the recipient of the shared 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. "The insurance companies didn't realize that for a long time." image removed The red areas are projected to be underwater in 2099. The white areas are among Australia's major population centers. Map courtesy of Weiss and Overpeck/University of Arizona. Now they do. British companies began ending "guaranteed" flood insurance for new buildings this year. Existing buildings will lose the promise in 2013. One reason behind that decision is increased flooding due to heavier rain in a changing climate. British land planners are also adapting. They consider sea rise and other climatic factors when approving new developments. But the policies found in Australia and Britain might find more difficult footing in the United States. 3 South Carolina imposed a plan almost 20 years ago that resembled the New South Wales proposal. It essentially sought to pull development farther back from advancing tides. But that spurred a constitutional argument. David Lucas, who owned two shoreline properties, fought the plan as a violation of his property rights. The Supreme Court agreed with him in a 6-3 decision in 1993. The case has been the "major impediment" to preventing coastal construction, said Georgetown's Echeverria. "Local governments are operating under a wildly perverse set of incentives," he added, noting that they face two options: getting sued by developers for restricting access, or receiving government bailouts when those buildings are washed away. "So it's not surprising that local officials err on the side of doing nothing," Echeverria said. "Because then it doesn't cost them anything." Want to read more stories like this? Click here <http://www.eenews.net/trial/> to start a free trial to E&E -- the best way to track policy and markets. About ClimateWire ClimateWire is written and produced by the staff of E&E Publishing, LLC. It is designed to provide comprehensive, daily coverage of all aspects of climate change issues. From international agreements on carbon emissions to alternative energy technologies to state and federal GHG programs, ClimateWire plugs readers into the information they need to stay abreast of this sprawling, complex issue. <http://www.eenews.net/email assets/imaaes/eepubs loao.aif> E&E Publishing, LLC 122 CSt., Ste. 722, NW, Wash., D.C. 20001. Phone: 202-628-6500. Fax: 202-737-5299. www.eenews.net <http://www.eenews.net> All content is copyrighted and may not be reproduced or retransmitted without the express consent of E&E Publishing, LLC. Click here <http://www.eenews.net/eep/learn more/privacv policv> to view our privacy policy. Cindy Galvan Coastal Training Program/Office Assistant Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve 4