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Assessment, Engagement, and Collective Action:

A Toolbox for Climate Adaptation Planning

Lisa Young Julie Curti

Danya Rumore MIT Science Impact Collaborative

New England Climate Adaptation Project

Workshop Agenda •  Introductions (5 min)

•  Overview of the New England Climate Adaptation Project (10 min) o  Project goals and partners o  Public polling results

•  Scenario Exercise (30 min) o  Small group discussions o  Debrief session

•  Presentation on Adaptation Planning Tools (15 min) o  Risk Assessments o  Stakeholder Assessments o  Role-Play Simulations and Workshops

•  Discussion (10 min)

2

Introductions

1.  Name 2.  State 3.  Employer, Job Title 4.  How long have you been

involved with climate adaptation planning?

5.  What are you hoping to get out of this workshop?

3

Funded by the NERRS Science Collaborative

New England Climate Adaptation P R O J E C T

4

Project Goals: •  Assess local climate change risks •  Identify key challenges and

opportunities for adaptation

•  Test the use of role-play simulations: o  As a tool for educating the

public about climate change threats

o  For helping communities explore ways of enhancing their climate preparedness

New England Climate Adaptation P R O J E C T

5

How concerned are you about the possible impacts a changing climate might have on

your town?

13%

13%

33%

18%

23%

1 - Not at all concerned

2

3 - Somewhat concerned

4

5 - Very concerned

6 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

How concerned are you about the possible impacts a changing climate might have on

your town?

13%

13%

33%

18%

23%

1 - Not at all concerned

2

3 - Somewhat concerned

4

5 - Very concerned

Most people are somewhat to very concerned about climate

change impacts

7 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

Do you ever think about whether a change in the climate could affect your community?

46%

25%

5%

24% Yes, often

Every once in a while

I have once or twice

No, not really

8 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

Do you ever think about whether a change in the climate could affect your community?

46%

25%

5%

24% Yes, often

Every once in a while

I have once or twice

No, not really

A lot of people are thinking about local climate change risks

9 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

How confident are you that your town will be able to effectively respond to climate-related risks despite uncertainty about what the future

climate will be like?

22%

22%

36%

11%

9% 1 - Not at all confident 2

3 - Somewhat confident 4

5 - Very confident

10 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

How confident are you that your town will be able to effectively respond to climate-related risks despite uncertainty about what the future

climate will be like?

22%

22%

36%

11%

9% 1 - Not at all confident 2

3 - Somewhat confident 4

5 - Very confident

People are not very confident that their town will respond to

climate-related risks

11 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

How significant do you think climate change should/will be in your town’s planning and decision making over the next ten years?

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1 - Not at all significant

2 Somewhat significant

4 5 - Very significant

Should be

Will Be

12 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

How significant do you think climate change should/will be in your town’s planning and decision making over the next ten years?

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1 - Not at all significant

2 Somewhat significant

4 5 - Very significant

Should be

Will Be

People would like their town to do something about climate change,

but don’t think it actually will

13 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

If the climate is changing, who do you think should be responsible for preparing for the

possible impacts on your community? Please select up to 3 options (first response shown below)

27%

24% 16%

14%

14%

3% 2% Individuals

The national government

The state government

The City/Town government

Other

Businesses

Neighborhoods

14 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

If the climate is changing, who do you think should be responsible for preparing for the

possible impacts on your community? Please select up to 3 options (first response shown below)

27%

24% 16%

14%

14%

3% 2% Individuals

The national government

The state government

The City/Town government

Other

Businesses

Neighborhoods

People assign more responsibility to individuals and the federal government than to the local

government

15 Aggregated responses from Barnstable, MA; Dover, NH; Cranston, RI; and Wells, Maine Public Poll |

Climate Adaptation Planning Scenario

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5 minutes: read and think 10 minutes: small group discussion

15 minutes: large group debrief

•  Group report-outs: What ideas came up? 1.  Information and resources needed 2.  Who to engage and how to involve them 3.  Anticipated challenges and strategies to overcome them

•  Did you find anything from this discussion particularly useful or surprising?

•  How does the scenario relate to the situation in your town?

•  How should your town make adaptation decisions?

Scenario Debrief

17

Climate Adaptation Planning Tools

•  Public Polls o  What does the general public think about climate change risks and their

town’s role in building resilience?

•  Summary Risk Assessment o  What are local climate change risks?

•  Stakeholder Assessment o  What do key stakeholders think about climate change risks and what, if

anything, are they doing on this topic?

•  Role-Play Simulations o  How can the local context and scientific information be built into an

interactive game?

•  Role-Play Workshops o  How do people think about climate change and local collective action

differently after playing the game?

All reports and materials available at: necap.mit.edu 18

Summary Risk Assessments

•  Local climate projections produced for each town o  Precipitation, temperature, sea level

rise, extreme weather events o  Low-emissions and high-emissions

scenarios o  Short-, medium-, and long-term

projections

•  “Downscaled” using local

meteorological data

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Summary Risk Assessments

20

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Summary Risk Assessments

Stakeholder Assessments •  Interviews with 15 to 20

stakeholder representatives o  City employees o  Residents o  Business owners o  Civic groups

•  Based on these interviews, the report identified: o  Key threats o  Impacts o  Adaptation options o  Obstacles to adaptation

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Role-Play Simulation Workshops

•  Games based on the findings from the Stakeholder and Summary Risk Assessments

•  Participants given a character

that is different than their everyday role

•  Tables of seven players have one hour to reach a consensus about adaptation policy options to recommend

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Role-Play Simulation Findings

•  Concern about local climate change risks increased in three of the four towns

•  Sense of local responsibility for preparing for and managing climate change risks increased in three of the four towns

•  Confidence in local adaptation action increased in all towns

•  Participants’ understanding of other perspectives and appreciation for the need for collective action and stakeholder engagement increased in all towns

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Discussion

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Small Group 1 Discussion Notes :

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Small Group 2 Discussion Notes :

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Small Group 3 Discussion Notes :

•  Danya Rumore §  drumore@mit.edu §  Assistant Director, MIT Science Impact

Collaborative §  Project Manager and Collaboration

Lead, NECAP §  PhD Student, Environmental Policy and

Planning, MIT

•  Julie Curti §  jcurti@mit.edu §  Research Assistant, NECAP §  Master’s Student, City Planning, MIT

•  Lisa Young §  ljy@mit.edu §  Research Assistant, NECAP §  Master’s Student, City Planning, MIT

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New England Climate Adaptation P R O J E C T

necap.mit.edu