Climate Resilient Infrastructure and Operations
President Biden's Executive Order 14057 on catalyzing American clean energy industries and jobs through Federal sustainability and accompanying Federal Sustainability Plan (collectively referred to as "The Federal Sustainability Plan") outlines an ambitious path to prepare Federal agency policy, programs, operations, and infrastructure to adopt adaptive and resilient strategies for future climate impacts.
Federal agencies will periodically develop climate adaptation and resilience plans that evaluate the most significant climate-related risks and vulnerabilities for agency operations and missions, and identify actions to manage those risks and vulnerabilities.
The President's Federal Sustainability Plan also establishes the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Federal Leaders Working Group, which will advance agency coordination, continual learning, and implementation in areas such as climate data and tools, infrastructure adaptation, and adaptation metrics and evaluation. This approach will minimize disruptions and destruction of Federal infrastructure, programs, and services.
Key Actions
Agencies will periodically develop climate adaptation and resilience plans that evaluate the most significant climate change related risks and vulnerabilities in agency missions and operations, and identify actions to manage and mitigate those risks and vulnerabilities.
- In October 2021, the White House announced the release of Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plans developed by more than 20 Federal agencies that outlined the steps each agency will take to ensure their facilities and operations adapt to and are increasingly resilient to climate change impacts.
- On October 6, 2022, the White House announced the release of Climate Adaptation and Resilience Progress Reports outlining the swift actions and quick progress made by major Federal agencies since October 2021 to strengthen the resilience of Federal programs and supply chains and safeguard Federal assets against increasing more frequent and severe extreme weather events.
- In June 2024, the White House announced the release of updated Climate Adaptation Plans developed by more than 20 Federal agencies that expand agency efforts to ensure their facilities, employees, resources, and operations are increasingly resilient to climate change impacts. In these new plans, for the first time, agencies respond to a common set of progress indicators. Learn more about the development of these indicators.
Federal agencies will advance climate operations by:
- Developing or revising polices, programs, and processes to promote climate resilient investment that advances adaptation to climate change and protects public health and the environment.
- Conducting climate adaptation analysis and planning for climate-informed financial and management decisions and program implementation.
- Reforming agency policies and funding programs that are maladaptive to climate change and increase the vulnerability of communities, natural or built systems, economic sectors, natural resources, or related risks.
- Developing and enhancing tools that assess climate change impacts, and support climate adaptation planning and implementation.
- Maintaining awareness of best available science as new climate research, projections, and scenarios better constrain likely future climate risks.
The Chair of CEQ will charter and designate the chair or co-chairs for this Working Group to advance agency coordination, continual learning, and implementation in areas such as climate data and tools, equity metrics and evaluation, financial analysis, and supply chains.
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