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EO 13653Executive OrderObama · D Quiet signal

Executive Order 13653

Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change

This executive order directs federal agencies to integrate climate change preparedness and resilience into their operations, programs, and investments. It establishes a new interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, creates a State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force, mandates updated Agency Adaptation Plans, and requires modernization of federal programs to remove barriers to climate-resilient investment.

Federal Register Open PDF 78 FR 66819

Impact dates

  1. Adaptation Plan updates due 1 year after each quadrennial National Climate Assessment

  2. Task Force terminates

  3. Task Force recommendations to President and Council due

  4. Inventory and assessment of land- and water-related policy changes due

  5. Agencies complete first update of Adaptation Plans

Key directives

  • All agencies shall identify and seek to remove barriers discouraging climate resilience investments
  • Agencies shall reform policies and funding programs that increase vulnerability to climate risks
  • Agencies shall identify opportunities to support climate-resilient investments by states, localities, and tribes
  • Agencies shall report progress in Agency Adaptation Plans
  • Develop web-based portal on Data.gov for climate data and tools
  • Agencies shall develop/update comprehensive Adaptation Plans integrating climate change into operations and missions
  • Council co-chaired by CEQ Chair, OSTP Director, and Assistant to President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
  • Task Force co-chaired by CEQ Chair and Director of White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Establishment of Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience
  • Establishment of State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force
  • Termination of Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force within 30 days of Council's first meeting

Near term (90d)

  • Agencies to complete first update of Adaptation Plans within 120 days of signing (by March 1, 2014)
  • Agencies to report progress on modernizing programs in Agency Adaptation Plans

Long term

  • Inventory and assessment of land- and water-related policy changes due within 9 months (by August 1, 2014)
  • Task Force recommendations due within 1 year (by November 1, 2014)
  • Task Force terminates 6 months after providing recommendations (by May 1, 2015)
  • Regular Adaptation Plan updates due 1 year after each quadrennial National Climate Assessment report

Risks & tensions

  • Implementation dependent on 'availability of appropriations' and 'existing appropriations,' creating funding uncertainty
  • Council and Task Force membership is extremely broad (31+ agencies), risking coordination challenges
  • No enforcement mechanism for agency compliance beyond OMB/CEQ review
  • Dual focus on climate resilience and carbon sequestration may create policy tensions in implementation
  • Order explicitly creates no enforceable rights, limiting judicial recourse if agencies fail to act
Executive Order 13653: Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change · Executive Orders