Having a good plan goes a long way. We know that a good plan can result in more livable, more resilient communities. In Louisiana, more livable and resilient communities means thinking about what lies ahead for a state that is, in every way, on the front lines of climate change. Two climate initiatives in particular have made this Fall an especially exciting and hopeful time for us here at CPEX -- my appointment to the Governor’s Climate Initiatives Task Force and Climate Week at our annual Smart Growth Summit.
It is truly an honor to be a member of the Climate Initiatives Task Force, which will be responsible for making recommendations about how our state should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to improve health, economic, and social conditions of communities across Louisiana while advancing the transition of Louisiana’s energy sector. In his remarks during the first Climate Initiatives Task Force meeting, Governor John Bel Edwards said, “It’s about avoiding the worst outcomes, but it’s also preparing ourselves to succeed in a new world, and in a new economy driven by these imperatives to be more resilient to disasters and make sure those disasters are less damaging to the environment, and then take advantage of all of the opportunities that we have — and they are many — to position ourselves to take advantage of this in terms of growing the economy and becoming leaders in this country and around the world on the front end of this.”
Throughout the course of my life in Louisiana, I have seen the pernicious effects of climate change on coastal residents and communities, and assisting those communities with resources for adaptation has been a driving force in my work. While adaptation is critical for the future of our state, adaptation measures must be coupled with mitigation actions if we are to make the case that Louisiana is a place worth investing in. The climate science is clear: to secure a future Louisiana that is livable and provides opportunity for its residents, we must take aggressive steps toward reducing carbon emissions. The good news is that this is absolutely possible.
The 2020 Virtual Smart Growth Summit was unlike any other Summit we have hosted. We had over 1500 registrants and while many were from Louisiana, we also reached participants from across the nation and 6 continents. Aside from bringing the Summit to our attendees via a completely digital format this year, it was also the first time that we hosted Climate Week -- a segment of the Summit dedicated to discussing our changing climate and the health, economic, social, and other implications for communities across Louisiana. We brought together internationally-recognized experts on climate change science and impacts -- here is a little of what they had to say (all Summit panels can be viewed on our YouTube Channel here).
Dr. Michael Oppenheimer, Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs at Princeton University and coordinating lead author on IPCC’s Special Report on Oceans, Cryosphere and Climate Change, was the Summit’s keynote speaker and provided an overview of climate projections for Louisiana. He stated in clear terms that “the rate of sea level rise is accelerating, and without reduced emissions, Louisiana will be facing, this century, extreme heat and humidity that will increase heat-related illnesses and deaths and likely impact the state’s tourism industry; intensified precipitation and flooding; reduced crop yields; and hurricanes that are stronger, wetter and possibly more persistent upon landfall.”
We also heard from Dr. Cheryl Holder of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University. She expounded on the health and equity impacts resulting from climate change, emphasizing that these impacts are not in the future -- they are already a reality and are affecting health outcomes now, especially among the poor and people of color, who are disproportionately affected by climate change. In her medical practice in Miami, Dr. Holder has encountered climate change impacts manifest in poor health outcomes among populations that cannot afford air conditioning while summers set heat records, andamong communities that are more exposed to flooding and other extreme weather impacts because of discriminatory housing policies or market forces. “We are just at the tip of the iceberg of all the health effects we could see,” Dr. Holder warned.
Dr. Geoffery Heal, Professor of Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School, focused on the intersections of climate change and the energy industry upon which Louisiana is heavily dependent. Dr. Heal showed that, nationally and globally, the energy industry is shifting away from fossil fuels, commenting that, “The U.S.’s industrial sector used to be dominated by the oil and gas industry. Today, the entire U.S. oil and gas industry is actually worth less than either Apple, Amazon, or Microsoft.” As wind and solar have become less costly sources of energy, demand for oil is falling, causing a simultaneous loss of value. He noted that while the forecast for the future of fossil fuels is stark, Louisiana has a great opportunity to be a leader in wind and solar and added that Texas is already making significant investments in these technologies.
Peter Calthorpe, a co-founder of the Congress for New Urbanism, grounded the conversation in an urban planning perspective, saying, “The way we shape our cities shapes our lives and shapes our interactions with one another and our planet.” His presentation outlined how mitigating and adapting for climate change will require us to rethink our development patterns, and he provided optimism by highlighting effective strategies for urban resilience such as infill and mixed-use development, innovative transit systems, urban tree canopies, and land conservation.
The thoughtful, dynamic conversations during Climate Week all emphasized that, for Louisiana, both mitigation and adaptation are critical to Louisiana’s path toward a resilient economic and climate future. For me, this highlighted the importance of CPEX’s mission and our need to double down on our efforts to make sure that people and equity are centered in the policies and laws that are developed to secure our future. It’s clear that reducing our dependence on fossil fuels can help meet both of those goals by lowering emissions and adapting our economy to the climate realities of this decade and this century. Our expert panelists noted the tremendous opportunity for Louisiana to retool our workforce and energy facilities to capitalize on the transition to clean, renewable energy while also exploring technologies such as carbon capture and storage which will be critical tools in helping us remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Each expert speaker emphasized that Louisiana must act with a sense of urgency to diversify our economy and reduce emissions -- our people, our communities, and our future as a state depend on it.
The transition away from fossil fuels isn’t a radical idea - oil and gas companies are already making significant investments in renewables and other approaches to match the global trajectory of energy production. Nearly everyone in Louisiana knows someone connected to the oil and gas industry. So not only do we need to make sure those people are not left out of the transition, we also need to connect those who have long been left out of Louisiana's economy to new opportunities. We need to lift up those populations that have been marginalized and are already bearing the brunt of climate change’s impacts. It’s not about cutting out oil and gas. It’s about working with oil and gas on innovations and market shifts that can diversify Louisiana’s economy and cultivate opportunities for all Louisianians.
We simply cannot plan for a future that provides safety, wellness, and opportunity for all of our residents without understanding climate change and its impacts. We cannot plan communities that meet the needs of our people without understanding how those needs are shifting as climate change alters our environment and economy, especially within low-wealth communities and among people of color. We cannot continue with siloed approaches to governance that don’t effectively foster collaboration and coordination. We also cannot continue to rely on disaster dollars and one-time funding sources to finance the investment required to make Louisiana sustainable. We have to love our state and our people enough to invest in our own future and raise the resources we will need to adapt and mitigate climate change impacts. We must be clear-eyed and committed as we chart our course forward.