Addressing Climate Change

Developed in accordance with Governor O’Malley’s Executive Order, more than 80 experts collaborated and held several larger stakeholder meetings to create the Phase II Strategy. Along with its companion, the Phase I Strategy for Sea Level Rise and Coastal Storms (2008), the Phase II Strategy is a key component of Maryland’s Climate Action Plan. State agencies will use both strategies to guide and prioritize state-level activities with respect to both climate science and adaptation policy.

Adaptation Phase II: Building Societal, Economic and Ecological Resilience

The Maryland Commission on Climate Change released its Phase II Strategy for Reducing Maryland’s Vulnerability to Climate Change on January 24, 2011. The report outlines strategies to reduce the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise, increased temperature and changes in precipitation within the following sectors: Human Health; Agriculture; Forest and Terrestrial Ecosystems; Bay and Aquatic Environments; Water Resources; and Population Growth and Infrastructure.

Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Maryland’s Vulnerability to Climate Change

Maryland’s Commission on Climate Change, created by Executive Order in 2007, has concluded that our State would see significant economic and environmental benefits from taking early, immediate actions to reduce global warming pollution. With more than 3,000 miles of shoreline, Maryland is the fourth most vulnerable state in the nation to the effects of climate change and rising sea levels. Scientists worldwide agree that early carbon reductions of at least 25 percent are necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

What Can You Do?

The Maryland Energy Administration has several incentives and programs to reduce your energy use.
Read more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint and save money.
Design a living shoreline on your property. Living shorelines act as a “filter” to trap and reduce pollution (such as nutrients and sediment) before it can enter the waters, provide critical habitat for species, and they reduce erosion and flooding. Because of their incredible environmental benefits, in 2008 Governor O’Malley signed legislation requiring soft or living shorelines wherever feasible.

What is Maryland Doing to Fix the Problem?

Maryland’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act commits the State to reduce greenhouse gases 25 percent by 2020. Part of the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s Smart, Green, and Growing legislative package, the 2009 legislation was co-sponsored by Senator Paul Pinsky and Delegate Kumar Barve and makes Maryland a leader in the country on reducing greenhouse gases.
The Maryland Commission on Climate Change’s Climate Action Plan details 42 actions to help the state greatly reduce its greenhouse gases while creating jobs and reducing energy costs to consumers. Preliminary analysis indicates that, by 2020, implementation of these forty-two strategies could result in a net economic benefit to the state of approximately $2 billion dollars. A study by the Baltimore-based International Center for Sustainable Development shows that Maryland could create between 144,000 and 326,000 “green collar” and research and development jobs by developing clean energy industries, contributing $5.7 billion in wages and salaries boosting local tax revenues by $973 million and increasing gross state production by $16 billion.
Maryland participates in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the nation’s first cap-and-trade cooperative effort by ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generating plants. RGGI auction proceeds go to Maryalnd’s Strategic Energy Investment Fund programs to promote cleaner energy sources, energy efficiency and conservation, and provide rate relief for low and moderate income households—all of which will go a long way to fight climate change and lower our electricity bills.
Under Governor O’Malley’s “EmPOWER Maryland” initiative, Maryland will reduce our energy consumption by 15 percent by the year 2015. To help achieve this goal, the Maryland Energy Administration encourages residents to adopt the combination of energy savings measures that are most appropriate for their home.
To protect Maryland’s people, infrastructure, and investments from the impacts of climate change, we are taking action now to ensure that our coastal communities and our natural resources are ready, adaptive, and resilient.