The inaugural Rising Seas Summit brought together more than 170 professionals from national and local government, industry, academic institutions and environmental NGOs together to highlight the interrelationships between sea level rise, climate change and extreme events. Understanding, anticipating and adapting to water related threats is critical to national security and a stable economy. Sea level rise will continue to damage coastal ecosystems and inland water systems, and the recent catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Sandy have demonstrated the risks faced by all coastal communities on the U.S. eastern seaboard. These new environmental challenges require that stakeholders share knowledge and work together to reduce and mitigate environmental and social degradation induced by climate change
Program Highlights
- 2 CCOTM training bootcamps on the basics of sea level rise and conducting vulnerability assessments
- Meetings, workshops and roundtable discussions with Federal and local government officials leading adaptation planning efforts on behalf of their respective organizations
- 4 plenary sessions featuring elected officials, Federal agency leaders, recognized thought leaders and scientific experts
- 6 breakout panel discussions examining best practices on modeling and planning for sea level rise, providing case studies from existing efforts, quantifying the term economic implications of sea level rise, making sound investments, planning for more frequent and significant extreme events
- CCO Roundtable networking lunch in which senior officials and experts from across sectors share their experience and wisdom with attendees