This page provides an overview of the steps Maryland is taking to prepare for the impacts of climate change.

On April 20, 2007, Governor Martin O'Malley established the Maryland Commission on Climate Change and directed the Commission to create a Climate Action Plan including measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change (Executive Order 01.01.2007.07). The 2007 executive order established the Adaptation and Response Working Group within the Commission to develop the adaptation portions of the state's Climate Action Plan. Maryland developed two climate change adaptation plans: a Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Maryland's Vulnerability to Climate Change, Phase I: Sea-level rise and coastal storms (Chapter 5 of the Climate Action Plan; “2008 Plan”), published on September 12, 2008; and a Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Maryland's Vulnerability to Climate Change, Phase II: Building societal, economic, and ecological resilience, published on January 24, 2011 (“2011 Plan”). The 2008 Plan addresses the effects of sea-level rise and coastal storms on the existing and future built environment and infrastructure; the economy; human health, safety and welfare; and natural resources. The 2011 Plan addresses changes in precipitation patterns and increased temperature, and the likely resulting impacts on six sectors: human health, agriculture, forest and terrestrial ecosystems, bay and aquatic ecosystems, water resources, and population growth and infrastructure.

“Coast Smart” Requirements

In 2012, Governor O’Malley directed all state agencies to consider the risk of sea-level rise, flooding, and extreme weather in the construction or reconstruction of state buildings and facilities (Executive Order 01.01.2012.29, Climate Change and “Coast Smart” Construction). The 2012 executive order also calls for new and reconstructed state-owned structures to be elevated two or more feet above the 100-year base flood elevation. This requirement was codified and expanded upon with legislation in 2014 (H.B. 615) and again in 2018 (H.B. 1350). The 2014 legislation established a Coast Smart Council and required the development of “coast smart” siting and design criteria for state structures. The 2018 legislation, passed in April, amends the Coast Smart law by expanding the categories of structures that must comply with coast smart criteria to include new state highway facilities, and new or reconstructed local projects that are at least half state-funded. The Coast Smart Council is also required to develop new coast smart criteria to comply with the 2018 law. H.B. 1350 also requires local jurisdictions that experience nuisance flooding to develop plans for addressing that flooding, and it requires the state departments of Planning, Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment to collaborate on a plan for addressing saltwater intrusion.

Strengthening the Maryland Commission on Climate Change

The Maryland Commission on Climate Change, originally established in 2007, was expanded in membership and scope by executive order in 2014 (Executive Order 01.01.2014.14, Strengthening Climate Action in Maryland, signed by then-Governor O’Malley). The Maryland Legislature codified the Commission through legislation in 2015 (S.B. 0258/H.B. 514, An Act Concerning Maryland Commission on Climate Change). The legislation specifies the agencies to serve on the Commission, including the Department of Natural Resources, The State Treasurer, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Environment, the Secretary of Planning, the State Superintendent of Schools, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of General Services, representatives from the state legislature, among others. This legislation continues the work of the commission and requires each state agency to review its planning, regulatory, and fiscal programs to more fully integrate emissions reductions and adaptation to the impacts of climate change into agency operations.

These pages highlight the progress Maryland is making to implement its statewide adaptation plans. Other resources from the Adaptation Clearinghouse, which have been developed and adopted to help Maryland prepare for the impacts of climate change, are featured in the chart below.

The Georgetown Climate Center’s State Adaptation Progress Tracker, which tracks the progress states are making in implementing adaptation plans, was supported by the MacArthur Foundation.

(Research last updated: July 16, 2018).