Climate Change Impacts on Law and Policy in Florida

Abstract

Climate change and sea level rise have made obsolete the notion that law and policy develop in the context of a relatively stable natural environment. The need of communities to adapt to climate change and sea level rise reflects the need for laws and policies governing those communities to facilitate rather than undermine such adaptation. This chapter provides an overview of law and policy issues at three levels of government—state, local, and federal. It highlights changes in state law and policy in Florida that relate to climate change and sea level rise. The chapter also focuses on local governments, and includes sections about regional collaborations of local governments, financial issues and climate change/sea level rise at the local level, examinations of impacts on infrastructure, and impacts on the public's use of beaches in Florida. The chapter concludes with discussion of a policy change related to climate change and sea level rise at the federal level that impacts local governments. Key Messages • The state of Florida engagement with climate change began early, with energy law in 2006. Since then the focus of engagement in climate and sea level rise has shifted from energy to disaster planning and flooding. This shift to focus on flooding and resilience resulted from local government experience of roads and drainage being the first types of infrastructure to suffer from rising seas. • Local governments, with much of their focus on infrastructure, have been some of the greatest centers of action on climate change, with many adopting extensive comprehensive plan policies that are increasingly being implemented through ordinances. Collaboration among local governments has resulted in increased focus on climate change and sea level rise as well as harmonized approaches to the challenges. • Among the challenges that Florida faces is protecting the state's beaches, which are the lifeblood of Florida's tourism industry. • Federal actions (from federally-supported research and data to federal policy changes to the National Environmental Protection Act and the new Federal Flood Risk Management Standard) have been both drivers and supporters of state and local activities on climate change and sea level rise, though recent changes at the federal level have eliminated some of these drivers.