Central Texas Launches First Regional Planning Effort to Help Communities Prepare for Climate Changes

In a state facing serious challenges from extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and other climate change impacts, key stakeholders throughout Central Texas met Oct 4. to discuss strategies for adapting to climate change for the first time.

The symposium, entitled “Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategies”, assessed the shared challenges central Texas communities face and provided an opportunity to identify collaborative solutions to make the region more resilient. It also provided a forum for learning about climate vulnerability in the region and sharing best resilience planning practices.

Vicki Arroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center, and Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University, delivered keynote speeches at the event.

Conference sessions focused on:

• Regional climate change projections and impacts
• Vulnerabilities and risks in the central Texas region
• Climate adaptation and resilience planning in Austin
• Regional approaches to climate resilience

The event was hosted by the Center for Politics and Governance at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and organized by Adaptation International, the Texas Drought Project, the Institute for Sustainable Communities, and graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin.

Financial sponsors included the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the Office of Sustainability at The University of Texas, and the Office of Sustainability at the City of Austin. In-kind sponsors included the Center for Sustainable Development and the Environmental Science Institute. The Texas Observer was a media sponsor.

The Georgetown Climate Center and the Institute for Sustainable Communities were national sponsors of the event.