The understated measure had no dollar figure attached to it, and it seems to sidestep an explicit reference to climate change. Obama never bothered to mention it. But it could prompt states to think hard about things like sea-level rise and then come up with plans to avert damages, observers say.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will for the first time ask states to consider the dangers of "climate variability" in plans they have to submit to Washington, D.C., in order to receive disaster aid.
It's a bureaucratic measure with muscle: It's possible that if states refuse to sift through the potential perils from warming, it might make them ineligible for federal funding used to repair and strengthen public facilities like roads and bridges, some experts say.
"This is huge. This has the potential for actually inducing behavior for reducing our risk," said Edward Thomas, a former FEMA official who's now president of the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association.
Obama Suggests States May Have to Make Plans to Adapt to Climate Change Risks to Receive Federal Disaster Aid
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