DATE: July 30, 2014
MEDIA CONTACT: Kristin Jacobs, Broward County Commissioner
PHONE: 954-357-7002
EMAIL: kjacobs@broward.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs told the US Senate Tuesday that south Florida is already facing serious impacts from climate change and needs help from the federal government to respond.
Appearing before the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety of the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Commissioner Jacobs testified that south Florida is already experiencing coastal and inland flooding, greater storm surge risks, saltwater contamination of drinking water supplies, impacts to water and wastewater systems, beach erosion, and threats to public and private property due to climate change
“The effects are showing up all around us,” Jacobs said in her written statement to the Subcommittee. “These changes are necessitating major investments in new infrastructure and system retrofits.”
She pointed to the estimated cost of coastal pumps needed to move water out of the canal system into the ocean as sea levels rise—$50 million each—and the total $21 million cost to rebuild just 2,000 feet of State Road A1A along the ocean in Fort Lauderdale that collapsed following Hurricane Sandy and other strong storms in late 2012.
Jacobs also highlighted the innovative model employed by the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact (“Compact”), a cooperative effort by Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties and other regional stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to climate impacts.
“While we have been recognized both nationally and internationally as a leading example of effective local climate action, I am most proud of the work the staff of each county has done in putting together our Regional Climate Action Plan and collaborating on implementation,” Jacobs said of the Compact.
The other witnesses at the hearing were Carl G. Hedde, Head of Risk Accumulation, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., who was a panelist at the Compact’s 2013 regional climate summit; Bill Mook, President, Mook Sea Farm; Bjorn Lomborg, Adjunct Professor, Copenhagen Consensus Center, Copenhagen Business School; and Raymond J. Keating, Chief Economist, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
The subcommittee is chaired by US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who visited south Florida and met with Commissioner Jacobs in April during a week-long, climate-focused tour of Atlantic coast states.
Commissioner Jacobs is currently serving on the State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience (“Task Force”), which President Obama created in November 2013. Jacobs is the only member of the Task Force from Florida and the southeastern coast of the United States.
At the President’s request, the Task Force has been developing a comprehensive series of recommendations for changes in federal programs and funding priorities to better aid state and local communities in their efforts to respond to climate change. The full report of the Task Force will be delivered to President Obama this autumn.
“Climate change is one of the most important issues facing our nation,” Jacobs told the Subcommittee. “As a grandmother of three, I can assure you the future is here. It is our responsibility as government to act now to ensure the resources and prosperity that we have enjoyed will be there for them, too.”
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