What is the role of government in climate change adaptation? Sure, we know that the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services provides SNAP benefits, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries issues hunting and fishing licenses, and maybe we have the Louisiana Department of Revenue on our minds when income tax deadlines roll around -- but do we really know what state agencies do and why it is important that they, too, adapt to coastal change?
CPEX has been helping answer this question alongside the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities (GOCA) through the Adaptive Governance Initiative (AGI). This initiative is designed to help agencies understand and prepare for the impacts that coastal change has on their operations to improve the resilience of our state and better serve our people. CPEX’s partnership with GOCA dates back to October 2018, when we hosted the State Agency Resilience workshop, which invited agency secretaries to review the projected changes to our state’s coastline and consider how their agency might be impacted. Since statewide planning and climate adaptation is a core tenet of CPEX’s work, we have continued this engagement with the State, and it has culminated in the AGI, which assists agencies in identifying and implementing coordinated strategies for mitigating climate change impacts.
Louisiana, like our federal government, consists of judicial, legislative, and executive branches. Louisiana’s twenty state agencies fall into the executive branch--they report to the Governor and act when an Executive Order is issued. There are also a few independently elected offices like Culture, Recreation, and Tourism and the Department of Insurance. Together, they provide services for the residents of Louisiana. Framed by their missions, the programs within each agency address various needs -- they ensure that Louisianans have sufficient transportation infrastructure, can enjoy what our natural resources offer, such as seafood and recreational activities, have access to healthcare resources like vaccines, and can find jobs with companies located in Louisiana, to name just a few state agency functions.
Agency missions were legislatively defined as part of the Louisiana Constitution, and although statutes are revised annually when legislation passes new laws, agency missions have been fairly consistent since the 1974 Constitutional Convention. But Louisiana has changed a lot since then -- we have had our share of hurricanes devastating communities, economies, infrastructure, and environments. We have also seen an increase in sea level rise and with it the existential threat to communities like Leeville. These escalating impacts have demanded response beyond disaster recovery. For example, in 2005 the state established the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority in the wake of a historically destructive hurricane season to better address the problem of coastal land loss and hurricane vulnerability. This form of adaptation within state government has resulted in significant investments in the restoration of important natural environments and the protection of coastal communities and economies. But protection and restoration projects are not enough to fully prepare our communities for the challenges of the future. We are anticipating significant sea-level rise and more inland reaching storm surges. We are already seeing populations migrate away from our working coast, and we need to ensure our economy is not left behind as global economies shift. Louisiana has to adapt to the changes we already see and those we know are coming, and state agencies play a critical role in that adaptation.
Governor Edwards knows this. His Executive Order 2020-19 established a Chief Resilience Officer position tasked with coordinating adaptation across state agencies, and it paved the way for Resilience Coordinators from each agency to identify programmatic vulnerabilities and adaptation actions so that they can continue to fulfill their missions amidst changing conditions. Investing in adaptation is not easy, and it is a heavy lift when resources are scarce, time is limited, and staff already wear many hats. But it is also an exciting opportunity for Louisiana to reconsider business as usual, assess our situation, and focus on building an abundant future for our kids and grandkids.
So what role do state agencies play in climate change adaptation? Because they administer the programs, set the rules, and build the projects that make our state function and provide crucial services relating to everything from health care to home insurance, state agencies have a vital role to play in determining how successfully we all can adapt to a changing climate. If we want a more resilient future, we need to support our agencies’ adaptation efforts because they are crucial for a functional built environment, a vibrant economy, a sustainable natural environment, and health and opportunity for all residents. And we need this support to live beyond an Executive Order -- in order to be successful, it must be embraced by our people and the legislative branch of government. Contact your legislators today in support of climate adaptation.