EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL OF ADVISORS ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20502
November 2015
Dear Mr. President:
In March 2015, you asked your Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) to
identify ways in which the Administration can assist the private sector in coping with climate
changes already underway and preparing for those to come. This letter report provides our
response and, in so doing, builds on the March 2013 PCAST letter report on climate change. 1
Background
Most Federal initiatives to support action on climate change fit into a matrix of four quadrants,
defined by the types of activities (mitigation and adaptation) and the locus of the actors undertaking
them (public sector and private sector). a See the table below.
Actors
Public Sector Private Sector
Activities
Federal clean-energy research and Clean Power Plan, 4 building and
development, Executive Order vehicle-efficiency standards, American
Mitigation
13693, 2 Presidential Memorandum Business Act on Climate Pledge 5
on Federal Energy Management 3
EO 13653, 6 Drought Resilience Climate Data Initiative, Climate
Partnership, 7 EO 13690, 8 Climate Resilience Toolkit
Data Initiative, 9 Climate Resilience
Adaptation Toolkit, 10 Task Force on Climate
Preparedness and Resilience, 11
building and infrastructure
standards 12
Although the entries are illustrative rather than comprehensive, the paucity of entries in the fourth
quadrant—private-sector adaptation—reflects a real deficit. Your Administration’s initiatives
have been focused to a much greater extent on the other three categories—mitigation-related
activities in the public and private sectors, and adaptation-related activities in the public sector.
In response to your request of March 2015 to look at options to do more to support the ability of
the private sector to prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change—including extreme
events—on business operations, supply chains, and long-term customer needs, PCAST focused
a
We here use “adaptation” as shorthand for adaptation, preparedness, and resilience. The sectoral distinction is
based on who takes the mitigation or adaptation action, not on where the relevant policy was formulated. This
simplified taxonomy leaves out activities that cut across mitigation and adaptation, such as the Climate Education
and Literacy Initiative (www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/climateed-dec-3-2014.pdf).
initially on the agriculture, water, and energy sectors. These sectors present particularly
compelling needs and opportunities for near-to-medium-term action. Many of the findings and
recommendations, however, also apply more broadly across the economy.
In the course of this effort, PCAST hosted extensive conversations with the private sector and
government agencies, reviewed many reports and peer-reviewed papers, participated in several
workshops with stakeholder groups, and held its own workshop. That workshop engaged
representatives from thirty-five stakeholder groups, including individuals from the agriculture,
water, energy, and insurance sectors; Federal agencies (including members of the interagency
Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience b); and non-governmental organizations
representing both the public and private sectors. Those interactions informed the three key
findings and six recommendations that follow.
Findings
Three key findings emerged from PCAST’s investigation of private-sector activities relating to
climate change. They are:
(1) Adaptation to climate changes that affect continuity of operations, supply chains, and the
integrity of facilities are undervalued in the private sector. c Companies that do attend to
adaptation focus primarily on near-term changes such as increased extreme-weather events
(e.g., flooding, drought), where there is a greater understanding of the effect on business
execution and financial performance, and not on the need for adaptation to the long-term
impacts of climate change (e.g., sea-level rise, changing availability of feedstocks). With
some notable exceptions, there is little activity in the private sector aimed at adapting to
long-term climate-induced disruptions to supply chains and business continuity. Few
major companies have incorporated climate data or modeling into long-term decision-
making or otherwise taken steps to address these risks; and smaller and medium-sized
enterprises have less capacity to understand and address risks of this kind. The near-term
nature of business focus can play a role in preventing the private sector from looking at
longer-term climate effects and adaptation measures. Better communication is needed
about the long-term risks climate change poses and the adaptation steps that can be taken
to minimize economic, social, and ecological costs.
(2) Companies rarely report metrics for measuring the success of climate-adaptation
initiatives. Best practices or lessons learned from dealing with climate variability and
climate change are not widely available or shared. Work is needed to define and reach
consensus on the most appropriate metrics to develop and track.
(3) Relevant tools and information from the Federal Government can be difficult to locate and
use. Company executives consulted by PCAST were largely unaware of existing Federal
data and tools. Additionally, some noted that data would need to be more precisely tailored
to specific users’ needs, for example by sector, geography, or by the capability and
experience of the user. There was an overwhelming call for an easy-to-use, single entry
b
The interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience was established by EO 13653 and is co-chaired
by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the
National Security Council (NSC), and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The Council includes five
working groups, focused on: agency adaptation planning, data and tools, infrastructure resilience, climate and
natural resources, and international adaptation.
c One insurance executive explained that climate and an aging population are the biggest source of risk that generate
liability for their industry.
2
point for obtaining usable data along with tools and methods to convert such data into
actionable information. As well, in the future the private sector would like to participate
in creating tailored information.
Finally, we observe that an opportunity exists to improve communications and understanding
between the public and private sectors about the state of climate science, the risks posed by climate
change, the complex and critical role public and private insurance and insurance regulations play
in dealing with the impacts of climate-related events, and the actions that can be taken to improve
adaptation. An element of this communication needs to be improved appreciation by the Federal
Government of the drivers of decision making and time frames regarding risk analysis used by the
private sector as it talks about and addresses adaptation. An intentional benefit of the public-
private partnerships that form the basis of several of the recommendations below is to help foster
this dialogue.
Apart from select actions taken by some companies focused on extreme-weather events—and the
work of a very few companies to prepare more broadly for a changing climate—the possibilities
for the private sector to prepare for and adapt to climate change remain largely unexploited. The
Federal Government can do more to motivate and facilitate such activity.
Recommendations
PCAST has developed recommendations in six areas that, when taken together, would help the
Federal Government to catalyze and support private-sector efforts in adaptation.
Recommendation 1: Educate and communicate – The interagency Council on Climate
Preparedness and Resilience should develop and implement a robust strategy for private-sector
education and communication that:
(a) explains the critical need for adaptation planning and action by companies and other
organizations;
(b) brings attention to the fact that the nature of such efforts will often extend well beyond the
normal near-term planning horizon of most private-sector participants; and
(c) integrates private-sector efforts with the adaptation work underway in the public sector.
The Council should actively engage the private sector as an integral part of this effort.
Recommendation 2: Enhance adaptation-science research and technology development and
demonstration – The National Global Change Research Plan of 2012-2021 is a comprehensive
plan covering climate-related research activities across the U.S. Government. 13 The update to that
plan, underway at the time of this writing, should incorporate the activities of additional Federal
partners, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and should “facilitate analyses of multi-sectoral effects
of global change, such as linked effects on water, agriculture, energy, and health.” 14 The final plan
should include:
(a) development of a research strategy for adaptation;
(b) identification of research themes related to the application of scientific modeling to enable
better understanding of the advantages and limitations of various adaptation responses, as
well as ways the processes and practices can be used to judge the efficiency and efficacy
of long-term adaptation actions; and
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(c) identification of “metrics for success” that would enable the public and private sectors to
measure progress to goals as well as, for example, the return on investments related to such
activities.
The interagency Council on Preparedness and Resilience, in consultation with the private sector,
should create an interagency working group to develop a comprehensive adaptation and resilience
technology, development, and demonstration plan. By September 30, 2016, the Council should
present a detailed roadmap to foster the development and demonstration of technologies needed to
meet adaptation needs in both the public and private sectors.
Recommendation 3: Close the information gap – The Subcommittee on Global Change Research
of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Environment, Natural
Resources, and Sustainability, 15 in consultation with private-sector participants and others who
have a stake in adaptation activities, should:
(a) take charge of improving the availability of, access to, and usability of the array of climate
data, models (including ensuring models are at appropriate geographic scales), best
practices, case studies, and information related to Federal Government programs and
resources that will accelerate private-sector adaptation decision-making and actions; and
(b) review existing information programs and resources, such as the Climate Data Initiative
and the Climate Resilience Toolkit, for sufficiency to support private-sector adaptation
activities.
The Subcommittee should be responsive to the FY 2017 R&D Priorities Memo issued by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP). 16 That Memo contained guidance that participating agencies should “prioritize activities
that foster the development and use of actionable data, information, and related tools needed to
prepare for and reduce climate-related risks and should prioritize investments that support
technical assistance for community climate-preparedness efforts.”
Recommendation 4: Unlock investment capital – The National Economic Council (NEC), with
OSTP, OMB, and the Department of the Treasury, and in consultation with the private sector,
should establish a task force to recommend specific public-private partnerships that would create
new public and private investment capacity for adaptation actions in both sectors. That process
should begin by assessing whether the Build America Investment Initiative, 17 including its centers
developing new investment vehicles, can do more to support investments associated with
adaptation. The task force should assess the vehicles being used for sustainable-technology
investing (e.g., municipal and green bonds, green banks, pension funds), evaluate their
applicability to adaptation investing, and determine if additional guidance is warranted to improve
OMB scoring and assessments, particularly for projects that operate on the long time scale of
adaptation measures. The task force should also consider mechanisms to amplify existing
programs within the government designed to provide partial funding of new investments. d
Recommendation 5: Expand public-private partnerships – The Federal Government should
increase the use of public-private partnerships focused on climate-change adaptation. Partnerships
pool knowledge and provide good leverage for limited resources.
d
Examples of programs include the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (www2.epa.gov/wifia) and the
DOE Title XVII innovative clean energy loan guarantee program (www.energy.gov/lpo/title-xvii).
4
Below we highlight one existing partnership and suggest specific actions to expand its relevance
to adaptation efforts. The program is aimed at activities within the electrical generation and
distribution sector.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has established a Partnership for Energy-Sector Climate
Resilience that includes 17 participating companies, representing 20 percent of U.S. electric
generating capacity and serving about 25 percent of U.S. electricity customers. This partnership
provides a mechanism for sustained engagement in climate adaptation between DOE and energy
companies. An objective of the partnership is the accumulation and sharing of best practices for
climate adaptation. PCAST recommends that the following additional specific activities be
undertaken in the initial year of the partnership:
(a) share best practices and lessons learned with the broader energy sector beyond the
partnership, engaging the Edison Electric Institute, public utility commissioners, and rural
utilities. This collection of best practices should be coordinated with FEMA, which has
been conducting an ongoing program accumulating best practices across the sector; and
(b) develop incentives for adaptation actions that take into account lessons learned from
current approaches used by state regulatory authorities that allow utilities to recover in their
rate structures the costs of investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
In addition to enhancing this existing partnership, we recommend three new areas for sustained
public-private dialogue through partnerships and/or workshops.
(a) OSTP should continue to encourage a public-private partnership focused on climate
services that brings together the relevant Federal agencies with national, regional, and
private-sector partners to assess information needs, share best practices, and identify
opportunities for investment. The partnership should:
(1) aim to become the authoritative climate information service and first-stop entry point
for data and guidance on adaptation actions;
(2) draw on the Federal regional climate centers 18 and include state and local managers
as well as private-sector business leaders; and
(3) include active input from the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at OSTP,
including the Chief Data Scientist, and the Office of the Federal Chief Information
Officer at OMB.
Consistent with our focus in this report, this partnership should begin its efforts by looking
specifically at the agriculture, energy, and water sectors.
(b) The White House has engaged with insurance and re-insurance leaders to discuss
opportunities to reduce the economic risks associated with extreme weather and climate
change. We recommend that the interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and
Resilience continue these dialogues with the additional inclusion of lenders, rating
agencies, and the financial/banking sector. A sustained activity with these key stakeholders
would help the Administration to explore opportunities for further collaboration in
identifying, communicating, and reducing the impacts of extreme weather and climate
change on economic sectors across the country. In addition, such an activity might work
in coordination with the task force established from Recommendation 4.
(c) The State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force (SLTL-TF) on Climate Preparedness and
Resilience identified several recommendations similar to those in this letter report, such as
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developing data and tools; encouraging prudent investments and leveraging private capital
and existing assets; and providing guidance at a scale and in a form adequate for guiding
decision-making and investments. We recommend that the interagency Council on
Climate Preparedness and Resilience convene local leaders engaged in innovative
approaches to these challenges, including a group of SLTL-TF members, together with
individuals from the private sector, to further develop and implement their
recommendations by incorporating the private sector into community-based initiatives.
Recommendation 6: Leverage existing programs to deploy a city-based pilot project: Leveraging
the Administration’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) initiative, a private-sector
adaptation pilot project should be deployed in at least three of the SC2 cities (e.g., Detroit, MI;
Fresno, CA; New Orleans, LA). e The project should engage the private sector directly in
development and programming of adaptation activities in the target cities, with goals to:
(a) understand private-sector information needs and how these overlap with the public-sector
needs, as well as those of universities and non-governmental organizations, being
addressed in SC2 cities;
(b) test adaptation-focused efforts that align with the recommendations of this letter report,
including mechanisms to unlock investment capital within the city for use in financing
adaptation measures and, in line with the SC2 effort, to expand public-private partnerships
focused on climate-change adaptation;
(c) identify opportunities where public- and private-sector adaptation programs can be
integrated and jointly undertaken to benefit both sectors; and
(d) create an easily accessible database of results and communicate best practices and lessons
learned from these pilot programs.
In summary, PCAST finds significant opportunities to further U.S. Government actions that can
support private-sector moves to become better prepared for and more resilient to ongoing and
prospective climate-change impacts. The recommendations outlined in this report leverage public-
private partnerships to bring focus and commitment from all stakeholders to this important effort.
PCAST stands ready to assist in the implementation and support of the ideas offered herein.
Sincerely,
The Members of PCAST
e
PCAST recognizes the large number of place-based initiatives currently underway. PCAST has chosen to
recommend the interagency pilot initiative SC2 for a private-sector adaptation pilot because SC2 has the ability to
provide necessary technical assistance and access to Federal agency expertise and because of SC2’s goal of creating
new public- and private-sector partnerships. Examples of place-based initiatives include: the Climate Action
Champions (www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/03/fact-sheet-16-us-communities-recognized-climate-
action-champions-leaders); the Hampton Roads Sea Level Rise Preparedness and Resilience Intergovernmental
Planning Pilot Project (www.centerforsealevelrise.org/); the Mayor’s National Climate Action Agenda
(www.houstontx.gov/mayor/press/Climate_Action_Agenda.pdf); the Resilience AmeriCorps
(www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-offce/2015/08/19/resilience-americorps-announces-ten-cities-its-pilot-program-
support); and the SLTL-TF’s “Preparedness Pilots” (www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/16/fact-sheet-
taking-action-support-state-local-and-tribal-leaders-they-pre).
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Co-Chairs
John P. Holdren Eric Lander
Vice Chairs
William Press Maxine Savitz
Members
Wanda Austin Rosina Bierbaum Christine Cassel
Christopher Chyba S. James Gates Jr. Mark Gorenberg
Susan Graham J. Michael McQuade Chad Mirkin
Mario J. Molina Craig Mundie Ed Penhoet
Barbara Schaal Eric Schmidt Daniel Schrag
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1
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Letter Report to the President on Climate Change.
2013. www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST/pcast_energy_and_climate_3-22-13_final.pdf
(accessed September 2015).
2
Executive Order 13693 of March 19, 2015, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade, Federal
Register 80, no. 57 (2015): 15871. www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-25/pdf/2015-07016.pdf.
3
U.S. President, Memorandum “Federal Leadership on Energy Management,” Federal Register 78, no. 237
(December 10, 2013): 75209, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-12-10/pdf/2013-29669.pdf.
4
Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units, 40 C.F.R.
§ 60 (2015). www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-10-23/pdf/2015-22842.pdf.
5
The American Business Act on Climate Pledge was launched on July 27, 2015. The most recent commitments are
listed here: www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/27/fact-sheet-white-house-launches-american-business-
act-climate-pledge (accessed November 2015).
6
Executive Order 13653 of November 1, 2013, Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change,
Federal Register 78, no. 215 (2013): 66819. www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-11-06/pdf/2013-26785.pdf.
7
The National Drought Resilience Partnership www.drought.gov/drought/content/ndrp (accessed October 2015).
8
Executive Order 13690 of January 30, 2015, Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Standard and a Process for Further
Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input, Federal Register 80, no. 23 (2015). www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-
2015-02-04/pdf/2015-02379.pdf.
9
U.S. Climate Data Initiative www.data.gov/climate (accessed November 2015).
10
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit toolkit.climate.gov (accessed November 2015).
11
President’s State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience
recommendations were delivered in November 2014.
www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/task_force_report_0.pdf (accessed October 2015).
12
Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems (Vol. I and II) was released on
October 29, 2015. www.nist.gov/el/resilience/guide.cfm (accessed November 2015).
13
USGCRP. 2012. The National Global Change Research Plan 2012-2021: A Strategic Plan for the U.S. Global
Change Research Program. Washington, DC: United States Global Research Program.
14
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Enhancing participation in the U.S. Global
Change Research Program. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
15
www.globalchange.gov/about/organization-leadership (accessed November 2015).
16
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2015/m-15-16.pdf (accessed October 2015).
17
U.S. President, Memorandum “Expanding Federal Support for Predevelopment Activities for Nonfederal
Domestic Infrastructure Assets,” Federal Register 80, no. 14 (January 16, 2015): 3455. www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-
2015-01-22/pdf/2015-01256.pdf.
18
www.ncdc.noaa.gov/customer-support/partnerships/regional-climate-centers (accessed November 2015).
