Budget Issues: Opportunities to Reduce Federal Fiscal Exposures Through Greater Resilience to Climate Change and Extreme Weather
Abstract
Certain types of extreme weather events have become more frequent or intense according to the United States Global Change Research Program, including prolonged periods of heat, heavy downpours, and, in some regions, floods and droughts. While it is not possible to link any individual weather event to climate change, the impacts of these events affect many sectors of our economy, including the budgets of federal, state, and local governments. GAO focuses particular attention on government operations it identifies as posing a "high risk" to the American taxpayer and, in February 2013, added to its High Risk List the area Limiting the Federal Governments Fiscal Exposure by Better Managing Climate Change Risks. GAO's past work has identified a variety of fiscal exposures - responsibilities, programs, and activities that may explicitly or implicitly expose the federal government to future spending. This testimony is based on reports GAO issued from August 2007 to May 2014, and discusses (1) federal fiscal exposures resulting from climate related and extreme weather impacts on critical infrastructure and federal lands, and (2) how improved federal technical assistance to all levels of government can help reduce climate related fiscal exposures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 29, 2014
- Accession Number
- AD1171765
Entities
People
- Alfredo Gomez
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office