Department of Energy and the Environment Launches Climate Ready DC Plan
District of Columbia (DC) – Kleinfelder has partnered with Area Research and Perkins+Will to develop a vulnerability assessment and a resiliency action plan, called “Climate Ready DC,” that will inform current and future planning decisions, capital investments, city-wide policies, and programs to help prepare the District of Columbia (DC) for climate change. Climate Ready DC was developed in alignment with the strong sustainability program that DC has already adopted city-wide.
The Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) has taken a proactive stance and committed to identifying, prioritizing, and addressing critical needs associated with climate change resiliency. Kleinfelder’s team collaborated with Dr. Katharine Hayhoe to develop downscaled climate data for precipitation and temperature, integrated with newly released sea level rise and storm surge climate data, to assess the overall risk to the District. Working closely with infrastructure owners and operators at the federal, state, and municipal levels, the team developed a risk-based, prioritized plan for adaptation that lays out the framework for future resiliency actions.
“It has been Kleinfelder’s privilege to be part of the team establishing DOEE leadership in developing the DC Climate Ready Plan,” says Kleinfelder Project Manager Nathalie Beauvais. “The plan provides for a shared regional framework for adaptation planning leading to concrete actions.”
The District received a blueprint for capital improvements, policies, and programs, integrated with Sustainable DC initiatives that will promote urban resiliency within the built and natural worlds as well as for the District’s citizenry.
The adaptation plan will allow the District to hone the focus of its initiatives based on the most at-risk assets, resources, and populations, which is crucial since need will likely overwhelm available funding. Informed with real-world expertise in buildings, infrastructure, urban ecology, and human populations, this actionable plan has achievable goals and provides DDOE staff, external stakeholders, and decision-makers with a roadmap for adaptation.
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