Open menu

Climate Change Adaptation - Delaware

Climate Change Adaptation - Delaware

State Seal of Delaware

                                         
        Threat from Sea Level Rise     Threat to Water Supply and Quality     Threat to Natural Habitat and Wildlife     Studies in progress     Studies in progress      State is engaged in monitoring  
           

 











Climate Change History

The Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Delaware developed the Delaware Climate Change Action Plan in 2000 for the Delaware Energy Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  No implementation or progress report for the recommendations in this document is available.  However, the State has focused tremendous effort, in recent years, on energy efficiency programs and renewable portfolio standards.

Current & Future Action

Delaware is not currently working on a comprehensive response to climate change.  However, many State offices are incorporating climate change considerations into their programs.  Delaware is currently working on a comprehensive strategy for sea level rise, one of the key threats to the State resulting from climate change.

The Delaware Coastal Programs, a partnership between the State of Delaware and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is leading this initiative which includes research, technical assistance, policy development and early implementation components.  The State has recently acquired complete LiDAR imagery (see links below) and has constructed several statewide inundation scenarios.

Pilot Programs/Current Studies

Delaware’s Sea Level Rise programs include:

  • Development of a Marsh Vulnerability Index
  • Development of Sediment Elevation Tables
  • A Digital Coast Project
  • Development of a Coastal Flood Monitoring System
  • Development of a statewide Adaptation Plan (2011)

Delaware recently conducted a survey of residents’ opinions on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise.  The final report is 200 pages and contains a vast amount of information of value to outreach efforts.  A 16 page executive summary is also available.

For More Information

Delaware’s main page for Sea Level Rise issues is: http://www.swc.dnrec.delaware.gov/coastal/Pages/SeaLevelRiseAdaptation.aspx

Delaware maintains a compendium of its many Sea Level Rise projects at: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/coastal/Documents/SeaLevelRise/SLRCompSept2011.pdf

NOAA’s Digital Coast program contains a ‘Lessons Learned’ document on Delaware’s recent LiDAR program: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/_/pdf/de_lessons.pdf

For more information contact Susan Love at susan.love@state.de.us or (302)739-9283.