Federal Policy Recommendations for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in the United States

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) outlines federal policy recommendations for coastal climate change adaptation and resilience in the United States. Based on a series of Congressional briefings held between June 2019 and April 2020, the document advocates for community-centered planning, the use of nature-based solutions, and the application of future-climate data to inform federal decision-making and funding.

• Federal policy for climate adaptation and resilience should prioritize climate justice, equity, and community-centered design, ensuring that frontline communities, low-income communities, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color shape policy development.
• The federal government must shift its decision-making and infrastructure strategies to be based on the climate of the future rather than the past, which includes updating benefit-cost analysis tools that currently disadvantage nature-based solutions and reinforce structural inequalities.
• Federal agencies should provide both data and technical support to help small, rural, and resource-scarce communities implement adaptation actions, and should increase funding for the co-production of knowledge with Native American communities, respecting their sovereignty over that knowledge.
• To support adaptation and resilience, the federal government should utilize diverse funding mechanisms—such as green banks, revolving loan funds, and bond measures—and design funding so that communities maintain control over grant implementation.
• Cultural heritage considerations and research on threatened cultural heritage sites should be integrated into federal requests for proposals and included in the National Climate Assessments.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (n.d.). Federal Policy Recommendations for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in the United States. https://www.eesi.org/files/Poster-Federal-Policy-Recommendations-for-Coastal-Climate-Change-Adaptation-and-Resilience.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Federal Policy Recommendations for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in the United States. n.d. https://www.eesi.org/files/Poster-Federal-Policy-Recommendations-for-Coastal-Climate-Change-Adaptation-and-Resilience.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Federal Policy Recommendations for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in the United States |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/Poster-Federal-Policy-Recommendations-for-Coastal-Climate-Change-Adaptation-and-Resilience.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitutendfederal, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Federal Policy Recommendations for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in the United States}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/Poster-Federal-Policy-Recommendations-for-Coastal-Climate-Change-Adaptation-and-Resilience.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }