Climate Change Impacts

Impacts of Climate Change on Californians

Climate Change Will Have a Variety of Health Effects

Statewide Average Temperatures
Have Been Increasing in Recent Decades

Key Steps in Adaptation Planning and Implementation

California Climate Change Assessments
and Guidance Documents

Document	Summary	Departments	Year
California Adaptation Planning Guide: Planning for Adaptive Communities	Guidance for local governments and regional collaboratives to address the consequences of climate change.	CalEMA, CNRA	2012
Safeguarding California Plan: 2018 Update	Catalogue of ongoing actions and recommendations to protect infrastructure, communities, services, and the natural environment from climate change.	CNRA	2018
Planning and Investing for a Resilient California: A Guidebook for State Agencies	Guidance document on steps of climate change planning for state agencies.	OPR	2018
California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessmenta	Scientific assessments of climate‑related vulnerabilities.	OPR, CEC, CNRA	2018
Paying it Forward: The Path Toward Climate‑Safe Infrastructure in California	How to incorporate climate change projections into the state’s infrastructure design, planning, and implementation.	CNRA	2018
aPrevious climate change assessments were released in 2006, 2009, and 2012. CalEMA = California Emergency Management Agency; CNRA = California Natural Resources Agency; OPR = Office of Planning and Research; and CEC = California Energy Commission.

Range of Sea-Level Rise
Projections for the California Coast

Sea-Level Rise Will Impact the California Coast
in Multiple Ways

Three Key Strategies for Adapting to Sea-Level Rise

Benefits of Taking Action Early to
Prepare for Sea-Level Rise (SLR)

Planning Ahead Means Adaptation Actions Can Be Strategic and Phased. Early planning can allow coastal communities to adopt a phased approach that undertakes escalating actions when certain predetermined conditions or “triggers” are reached.
Undertaking Near-Term Actions Can “Buy Time” Before More Intensive Responses are Needed. Putting certain adaptation projects and strategies in place now can help postpone and extend the period before which subsequent, more difficult-to-implement actions are needed.
Early Implementation Provides the Opportunity to Test Approaches and Learn What Works Best. Acting to implement adaptation strategies in the near term will provide the opportunity to monitor, evaluate, and revise them in the coming years before SLR threats become more pressing.
Taking Action Earlier May Make Overall Adaptation Efforts More Affordable. Undertaking a multiyear, multistep strategic plan for coastal adaptation can allow local governments to spread costs over a longer period of time.
Coming Decade Is Key Window for SLR Preparation. Some adaptation strategies—such as fortifying certain tidal marshes—may not be effective against SLR unless they are implemented before sea levels rise to higher levels.

Last Updated: December 2021

Eunice Roh: (916) 319-8327; Mass Transportation, Traffic Enforcement, Statewide Planning and Infrastructure
Sonja Petek: (916) 319-8340; Water, Coastal Development, and Fish and Wildlife
Helen Kerstein: (916) 319-8364; Forestry, Parks, and High Speed Rail