I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4823 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

to revise the policy of the Agency to address the threats of climate 

change, to include considerations of climate change in the strategic 

plan of the Agency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 23, 2019 

Ms. CLARKE of New York (for herself, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. 

DINGELL, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. 

CASE, Mr. SOTO, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. MOORE, 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. 

BARRAGA ́N, Ms. NORTON, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. CLEAVER, 

Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to revise the policy of the Agency to 

address the threats of climate change, to include considerations of climate change in the strategic plan of the 

Agency, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FEMA Climate 

5 Change Preparedness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Under the previous administration, FEMA’s 

4 2014–2018 Strategic Plan explicitly mentioned and 

5 referenced climate change as a source of changing 

6 and increasing national disaster risks, in the near 

7 and long term, that— 

8 (A) must be effectively integrated into the 

9 Agency’s risk assessment resources and proc10 esses; and 

11 (B) the entire emergency management 

12 community will need to adapt appropriately to 

13 as they strengthen their risk management pro14 grams. 

15 (2) In FEMA’s 2018–2022 Strategic Plan, de16 spite the mounting threat posed by climate change, 

17 the term ‘‘climate change’’ is entirely absent from 

18 the text. 

19 (3) It is the general consensus of the global sci20 entific community that— 

21 (A) the evidence of climate change is un22 equivocal; 

23 (B) anthropogenic greenhouse gas emis24 sions are the primary cause of climate change; 

25 and 


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1 (C) as a direct result of climate change, 

2 sea levels are rising and extreme weather events 

3 are becoming more commonplace and severe. 

4 (4) The last 5 years have been the warmest 

5 years on record since the National Oceanic and At6 mospheric Administration began recording global air 

7 temperatures in 1895. 

8 (5) 2017, one of the three warmest years on 

9 record, was also the most expensive year on record 

10 for emergency disaster costs in the United States 

11 due to 16 weather and climate disasters. 

12 (6) It is the mission of FEMA to reduce the 

13 loss of life and property and protect our institutions 

14 from all hazards by leading and supporting the Na15 tion in a comprehensive, risk-based emergency man16 agement program of mitigation, preparedness, re17 sponse, and recovery. 

18 (7) It is detrimental to the mission of FEMA, 

19 and the Agency’s ability to follow its mandate, to ex20 plicitly or implicitly deny or ignore the existence of 

21 climate change or the implications of such on na22 tional security and national emergency management. 

23 (8) To fully and effectively carry out its man24 date, FEMA must comprehensively assess and incor25 porate the current and future natural disaster risks 


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1 and impacts posed by climate change throughout the 

2 Agency’s policies, plans, programs, strategies, and 

3 operations. 

4 SEC. 3. STATEMENTS OF INTENT AND POLICY. 

5 Section 101 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

6 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

10 the end; 

11 (B) in paragraph (6) by striking the period 

12 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(7) integrating, to the greatest extent prac15 ticable, climate change adaptation planning and ac16 tions into the programs, policies, and operations of 

17 the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and 

18 ‘‘(8) assisting State, local, volunteer, and pri19 vate partners in preparing for and mitigating the 

20 risks posed by climate change as listed in subsection 

21 (c)(2), as well as any other climate change risks.’’; 

22 and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(c) CLIMATE CHANGE.—It is the policy of the Fed25 eral Emergency Management Agency to recognize that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) climate change is— 

2 ‘‘(A) an irrefutable, multidimensional, and 

3 significant near and long-term threat to United 

4 States— 

5 ‘‘(i) homeland security; 

6 ‘‘(ii) national security; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) national disaster risk; and 

8 ‘‘(B) primarily caused by anthropogenic 

9 greenhouse gas emissions; and 

10 ‘‘(2) as a direct result of climate change, the 

11 United States faces the increased threat of— 

12 ‘‘(A) changing, more frequent, and more 

13 severe extreme weather events; 

14 ‘‘(B) rising natural hazard risk; 

15 ‘‘(C) disruptions to or failure of critical in16 frastructure; 

17 ‘‘(D) sea-level rise; 

18 ‘‘(E) internal population displacement; 

19 ‘‘(F) the spread of life-threatening dis20 eases; 

21 ‘‘(G) rising annual disaster costs; and 

22 ‘‘(H) disproportionately high risks and im23 pacts to low-income communities, communities 

24 of color, Tribal communities, and other front25 line communities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

3 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(13) CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘climate 

6 change’ means the long-term shifts in global and re7 gional climate patterns, and associated phenomena, 

8 that are occurring primarily as a result of anthropo9 genic greenhouse gas emissions. 

10 ‘‘(14) SEA-LEVEL RISE.—The term ‘sea-level 

11 rise’ means the local, regional, and global long-term 

12 trends in rising average sea levels that are occurring 

13 as a direct result of climate change and additional 

14 local factors such as land subsidence. 

15 ‘‘(15) EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.—The term 

16 ‘extreme weather events’ means historically rare or 

17 severe natural disasters such as heat waves, 

18 droughts, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. 

19 ‘‘(16) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 

20 ‘frontline community’ means a low-income commu21 nity, community of color, or Tribal community that 

22 is disproportionately impacted or burdened by cli23 mate change and associated phenomena.’’. 

24 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN STRATEGIC 

25 PLAN. 

26 (a) CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator shall revise the 2018–2022 Strategic Plan 

4 to— 

5 (A) ensure the text of such plan explicitly 

6 mentions climate change, in accordance with 

7 the policy of FEMA in section 101 of the Rob8 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

9 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121), as amended 

10 by section 3; and 

11 (B) address the implications of climate 

12 change on homeland security and near- and 

13 long-term national disaster risk, including 

14 emergency preparedness, response, recovery, 

15 and mitigation. 

16 (2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, appropriate per18 sonnel of FEMA shall brief the Committee on 

19 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 

20 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov21 ernmental Affairs of the Senate on the process and 

22 rationale that resulted in the exclusion of references 

23 to climate change from the originally published 

24 2018–2022 Strategic Plan, and if requested by the 


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1 Chair of either such Committee, a written report de2 scribing such process and rationale. 

3 (b) FUTURE STRATEGIC PLANS.—Any strategic plan 

4 subsequent to the 2018–2022 Strategic Plan developed by 

5 FEMA shall— 

6 (1) explicitly mention climate change, in accord7 ance with the policy of FEMA under section 101 of 

8 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer9 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121), as amended 

10 by section 3; and 

11 (2) address the implications of climate change 

12 on homeland security and near- and long-term na13 tional disaster risk, including emergency prepared14 ness, response, recovery, and mitigation, drawing 

15 upon findings and recommendations, once available, 

16 from the Climate Change Subcommittee described in 

17 section 6 and the assessment of climate change risks 

18 and preparedness described in section 7. 

19 SEC. 6. NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL CLIMATE CHANGE 

20 SUBCOMMITTEE. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home23 land Security shall establish, as a subcommittee of the Na24 tional Advisory Council, the Climate Change SubVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:27 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4823.IH H4823

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1 committee (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sub2 committee’’). 

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of law, the Subcommittee shall consist of— 

6 (A) the Administrator of FEMA; 

7 (B) the Director of the United States Geo8 logical Survey of the Department of the Inte9 rior; 

10 (C) the Director of the Bureau of Safety 

11 and Environmental Enforcement of the Depart12 ment of the Interior; 

13 (D) the Under Secretary of Commerce for 

14 Oceans and Atmosphere; 

15 (E) the Commanding Officer of the United 

16 States Army Corps of Engineers; 

17 (F) the Director of the Office of Homeland 

18 Security and Emergency Coordination of the 

19 Department of Agriculture; 

20 (G) the Executive Director of the Federal 

21 Highway Administration of the Department of 

22 Transportation; 

23 (H) the Executive Director of the Federal 

24 Transit Administration of the Department of 

25 Transportation; 


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1 (I) the Under Secretary of Energy of the 

2 Department of Energy; 

3 (J) the Commissioner of the Federal Hous4 ing Administration of the Department of Hous5 ing and Urban Development; 

6 (K) the Assistant Administrator of the Of7 fice of Land and Emergency Management of 

8 the Environmental Protection Agency; 

9 (L) the Acting Director of the Center for 

10 Preparedness and Response of the Department 

11 of Health and Human Services; 

12 (M) such other qualified individuals as the 

13 Administrator shall appoint as soon as prac14 ticable from among the following— 

15 (i) members of the National Advisory 

16 Council that have the requisite technical 

17 knowledge and expertise to address climate 

18 change threats to homeland security, in19 cluding— 

20 (I) emergency management and 

21 emergency response providers; 

22 (II) State, local, and Tribal gov23 ernment officials; 


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1 (III) climate scientists and ex2 perts in natural disaster risk assess3 ment; and 

4 (IV) experts in climate change 

5 adaption, mitigation, and resilience; 

6 and 

7 (ii) individuals who have the requisite 

8 technical knowledge and expertise to serve 

9 on the Climate Change Subcommittee, in10 cluding at least 1 representative from each 

11 of— 

12 (I) an environmental justice or13 ganization representing low-income 

14 communities and communities of color 

15 that are disproportionately impacted 

16 by climate change; 

17 (II) a Tribal community that is 

18 disproportionately impacted by climate 

19 change or environmental pollution; 

20 (III) an organized labor group 

21 within the resilient infrastructure sec22 tor; 

23 (IV) a private-sector company 

24 that designs, develops, or constructs 

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1 zation that represents such compa2 nies; 

3 (V) a city or county that is di4 rectly impacted by coastal sea-level 

5 rise; 

6 (VI) a State that is directly im7 pacted by coastal sea-level rise; 

8 (VII) a city or county that is 

9 highly impacted by wildfires or 

10 droughts; 

11 (VIII) a State that is highly im12 pacted by wildfires or droughts; 

13 (IX) scientists with expertise in 

14 climate science and natural disaster 

15 risk assessment who are faculty mem16 bers at an accredited university; and 

17 (X) experts in homeland security 

18 threat assessment and intelligence 

19 analysis, especially as it concerns nat20 ural disasters; and 

21 (N) representatives of such other stake22 holders and interested and affected parties as 

23 the Administrator determines appropriate. 

24 (2) REPRESENTATION.—The Administrator 

25 shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that members 


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1 of the Subcommittee represent a geographic (includ2 ing urban, rural, and coastal) and substantive diver3 sity of State, local, and Tribal government officials, 

4 emergency managers, and emergency response pro5 viders, scientific and technical experts, private-sector 

6 companies, and nongovernmental organizations. 

7 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Subcommittee shall ad8 vise the Administrator on how to best incorporate climate 

9 change, including risk assessments and strategies for ad10 aptation and mitigation, into and throughout FEMA’s 

11 policies, plans, programs, and operations, including 

12 through the performance of the following duties: 

13 (1) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 18 months 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sub15 committee shall develop and submit to the Adminis16 trator and Congress, and make available to the pub17 lic, an assessment of all relevant FEMA policies, 

18 plans, programs, strategies, and operations with a 

19 focus on climate change-related risks, impacts, adap20 tation, preparedness, mitigation, and resilience. The 

21 assessment shall address— 

22 (A) existing and future risks and impacts 

23 posed by climate change to States, cities, and 

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1 mate change on national emergency manage2 ment, annual disaster costs, and natural dis3 aster mitigation, preparedness, response, and 

4 recovery; 

5 (B) the extent to which climate change, in6 cluding risk assessments, resilience, adaptation, 

7 and mitigation, is currently integrated within 

8 FEMA policies, plans, programs, strategies, 

9 and operations, as well as the extent to which 

10 and areas where such integration is lacking; 

11 (C) the extent to which climate change, in12 cluding risk assessments, resilience, adaptation, 

13 and mitigation, is currently incorporated into 

14 technical assistance, outreach, grant, and loan 

15 programs, as well as the extent to which and 

16 programs where such integration is lacking; 

17 (D) partnerships and coordination with 

18 Federal, State, and local agencies and authori19 ties, as well as volunteer and private entities; 

20 (E) data collection, management, and anal21 ysis; 

22 (F) recommendations regarding how 

23 FEMA can better incorporate climate change 

24 throughout FEMA policies, plans, programs, 


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1 strategies, and operations, which shall ad2 dress— 

3 (i) risk assessments, including ways to 

4 more comprehensively predict and incor5 porate current and future risks as they re6 late to climate change; 

7 (ii) strategies to increase climate 

8 change adaptation, mitigation, and resil9 ience in communities throughout the 

10 United States; 

11 (iii) ways to ensure that investments 

12 and strategies around climate change ad13 aptation, mitigation, and resilience benefit 

14 all communities, especially frontline com15 munities; 

16 (iv) critical information, communica17 tion, and policy gaps, barriers, and chal18 lenges; 

19 (v) technical assistance, outreach, 

20 grant, and loan programs, including ways 

21 that FEMA can use and expand such pro22 grams to increase climate change prepared23 ness throughout the emergency manage24 ment community, and strengthen climate 

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1 ience across the United States, particularly 

2 in frontline communities; 

3 (vi) coordination with all relevant 

4 partners, including Federal, State, and 

5 local agencies and authorities, as well as 

6 private entities and volunteers; 

7 (vii) monitoring, recording, and ana8 lyzing FEMA actions, data management, 

9 and budget allocations to help advance cli10 mate resilience; 

11 (viii) methodologies for integrating 

12 and disseminating scientific knowledge of 

13 projected climate change impacts and 

14 risks, and other relevant data and informa15 tion, into policies, guidance, and public 

16 communications; 

17 (ix) platforms for sharing best prac18 tices, information, and lessons learned with 

19 the national emergency management com20 munity and general public, including public 

21 web pages, webinars, and workshops; 

22 (x) FEMA’s 2018–2022 Strategic 

23 Plan, and ways for FEMA to better incor24 porate climate change into all future such 

25 plans; and 


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1 (xi) any other matters, as the Admin2 istrator determines to be appropriate; and 

3 (G) timeframes for implementing any such 

4 recommendations that do not require congres5 sional action, and the identification of any such 

6 recommendations that require congressional ac7 tion. 

8 (2) ONGOING DUTIES.—Upon request of the 

9 Administrator, the Subcommittee shall, on an ongo10 ing basis— 

11 (A) review any relevant Agency policies, 

12 plans, programs, strategies, and operations, and 

13 make any necessary recommendations thereof, 

14 regarding climate change; 

15 (B) support the Administrator in incor16 porating and implementing findings and rec17 ommendations from the assessment described in 

18 paragraph (1) into all relevant Agency policies, 

19 plans, programs, strategies, and operations, in20 cluding the assessment of climate change risks 

21 and preparedness described in section 7; and 

22 (C) perform any other relevant duties, as 

23 the Administrator determines to be appropriate. 

24 (d) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—In carrying out its duties 

25 under this section, the Subcommittee shall— 


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1 (1) consult with stakeholders through not less 

2 than 2 public meetings each year, the total of which 

3 not less than 3 shall be during the time in which the 

4 Subcommittee is conducting the assessment de5 scribed in subsection (c)(1); and 

6 (2) seek input from all stakeholder interests in7 cluding State and local representatives, environ8 mental and climate justice organizations, private in9 dustry representatives, advocacy groups, planning 

10 and resilience organizations, labor representatives, 

11 and representatives from frontline communities. 

12 (e) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—Any non-feder13 ally employed member of the Subcommittee, when attend14 ing meetings of the Subcommittee or when otherwise en15 gaged in the business of the Subcommittee, shall receive— 

16 (1) compensation at a rate fixed by the Sec17 retary of Homeland Security, not exceeding the daily 

18 equivalent of the current rate of basic pay in effect 

19 for GS–15 of the General Schedule under section 

20 5332 of title 5, United States Code, including travel 

21 time; and 

22 (2) travel or transportation expenses under sec23 tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

24 (f) CHAIR.—The Administrator shall serve as the 

25 Chair of the Subcommittee. 


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1 (g) STAFF.— 

2 (1) FEMA.—Upon request of the Sub3 committee, the Administrator may detail, on a non4 reimbursable basis, personnel of FEMA to assist the 

5 Subcommittee in carrying out its duties. 

6 (2) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

7 of the Subcommittee, any other Federal agency that 

8 is a member of the Subcommittee may detail, on a 

9 nonreimbursable basis, personnel to assist the Sub10 committee in carrying out its duties. 

11 (h) POWERS.—In carrying out this section, the Sub12 committee may hold hearings, receive evidence and assist13 ance, provide information, conduct research, and author 

14 reports, as the Subcommittee considers appropriate. 

15 (i) TERMINATION.—The Subcommittee shall termi16 nate not later than 3 years after the submission of the 

17 report required under subsection (c)(1). 

18 (j) UPDATES AND IMPLEMENTATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 90 

20 days after the submission of the assessment under 

21 subsection (c)(1), the Administrator shall— 

22 (A) coordinate the implementation of the 

23 recommendations, and actions to address the 

24 findings, as described in such assessment, 

25 where appropriate; and 


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1 (B) provide updates annually thereafter, 

2 until the date that is 1 year after the date on 

3 which the Subcommittee terminates, to the 

4 Committee on Homeland Security of the House 

5 of Representatives and the Committee on 

6 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

7 of the Senate containing— 

8 (i) the implementation status of the 

9 findings and recommendations of the as10 sessment; and 

11 (ii) any other findings and rec12 ommendations that the Subcommittee may 

13 provide in the course of its duties. 

14 (2) FINDINGS.—Not later than 2 years after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

16 thereafter until the termination of the Sub17 committee, the Administrator shall submit to the 

18 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

19 Representatives, submit to the Committee on Home20 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen21 ate, and make available to the public a report on the 

22 actions taken by the Administrator to incorporate 

23 and implement the findings and recommendations 

24 from the assessment described in subsection (c)(1), 

25 and any other findings and recommendations that 


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1 the Subcommittee may provide, into all relevant 

2 Agency policies, plans, programs, strategies, and op3 erations. 

4 SEC. 7. ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS AND PRE5 PAREDNESS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, and every 4 years there8 after, the Administrator shall publish as a report, submit 

9 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

10 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

11 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and make avail12 able to Congress and the public, a comprehensive assess13 ment of climate change risks and preparedness, which 

14 shall— 

15 (1) incorporate and expand upon the findings 

16 and recommendations made by the Subcommittee; 

17 (2) identify, predict, and assess existing and fu18 ture natural disaster risks and impacts posed by cli19 mate change to States, cities, and communities 

20 throughout the United States, including the current 

21 and potential impact to annual disaster, mitigation, 

22 and insurance costs, as well as to natural disaster 

23 mitigation, adaptation, preparedness, response, and 

24 recovery capabilities and efforts. 


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1 (3) identify, predict, and assess risks and im2 pacts to frontline communities, particularly low-in3 come communities, communities of color, and Tribal 

4 communities; 

5 (4) assess the current state of preparedness 

6 throughout the emergency management community, 

7 and across all levels of government, in relation to the 

8 expected natural disaster risks and impacts posed by 

9 climate change; 

10 (5) identify steps taken by FEMA to integrate 

11 climate change into all relevant Agency policies, 

12 plans, programs, strategies, and operations; 

13 (6) identify measures taken by FEMA to in14 crease climate change resilience, adaptation, and 

15 mitigation throughout the United States, and to in16 crease overall preparedness of the entire emergency 

17 management community; 

18 (7) provide recommendations and best practices 

19 for how FEMA, all relevant partners, and the na20 tional emergency management community can better 

21 prepare for, mitigate, and adapt to the present and 

22 future national disaster risks and impacts posed by 

23 climate change, including specific recommendations 

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1 silience, adaptation, and mitigation in frontline com2 munities; 

3 (8) describe climate change mitigation, adapta4 tion, and resilience methods adopted in no fewer 

5 than 5 communities across the United States, in6 cluding at least— 

7 (A) 1 urban community; 

8 (B) 1 rural community; 

9 (C) 1 coastal community; and 

10 (D) 1 frontline community; and 

11 (9) incorporate any other components and sec12 tions as the Administrator determines appropriate. 

13 (b) METHODOLOGY.—Not later than 3 years after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall re15 port to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 

16 of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Secu17 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate on the meth18 odology that will be used to conduct the analysis and 

19 produce the assessment required under subsection (a). 

20 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

22 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis23 trator’’ means the Administrator of FEMA. 


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1 (2) AGENCY; FEMA.—The terms ‘‘Agency’’ and 

2 ‘‘FEMA’’ mean the Federal Emergency Manage3 ment Agency. 

4 (3) CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘‘climate 

5 change’’ means the long-term shifts in global and re6 gional climate patterns, and associated phenomena, 

7 that are occurring primarily as a result of anthropo8 genic greenhouse gas emissions. 

9 (4) EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.—The term 

10 ‘‘extreme weather events’’ means historically rare or 

11 severe natural disasters such as heat waves, 

12 droughts, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. 

13 (5) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 

14 ‘‘frontline community’’ means a low-income commu15 nity, community of color, or Tribal community that 

16 is disproportionately impacted or burdened by cli17 mate change and associated phenomena. 

18 (6) SEA-LEVEL RISE.—The term ‘‘sea-level 

19 rise’’ means the local, regional, and global long-term 

20 trends in rising average sea levels that are occurring 

21 as a direct result of climate change and additional 

22 local factors such as land subsidence. 

Æ 


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