Summary of State Agency Action

Because North Carolina's statewide adaptation plan, the North Carolina Resilience Plan, was just released in June 2020, this page captures ongoing state activities, before adoption of the plan. This research will be updated in the future with the progress the state is making in implementing the adaptation actions and goals set forth in the Plan.

Coasts & Oceans

In 2010, the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission released a report projecting 39 inches of sea-level rise along North Carolina’s coast by 2100, based upon the latest scientific information at that time. In August 2012, the state legislature enacted “An Act to Study and Modify Certain Coastal Management Policies” (Sessions Law 2012-202) to limit the Commission’s ability to use projected rates of sea-level rise in regulatory decisions until 2016, and directed the Commission to develop updated projections for the state’s sea-level rise study every five years.

In March 2015, the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission Science Panel published its 2015 update to the state’s Sea-Level Rise Assessment Report, which provides sea-level rise projections for the state. The report considers future projections of sea-level rise based upon the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (AR5) scenarios and estimates up to a 10.6 inch rise in sea levels over the 30-year timeframe analyzed in the study.

Agency Efforts to Plan for Climate Impacts: Biodiversity and Public Health

Some state agencies are also taking steps to prepare for climate impacts in specific sectors, including the following examples:  

• In 2016, the North Carolina Department of Health published a Climate and Health Adaptation Plan following the Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The plan assesses how climate change will affect public health in North Carolina and identifies adaptation strategies for impacts, such as rising temperatures and increasing risks of wildfires.
• In 2010, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the state’s Wildlife Action Plan Workshop Steering Committee partnered with Defenders of Wildlife to publish a report assessing potential impacts to the state’s fish and wildlife as a result of climate change.

(Research last updated: July 21, 2020).