Monroe County, Florida Climate Action Plan

The Monroe County Climate Action Plan outlines goals and recommendations for a coordinated climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy for the County government and local communities within the Florida Keys. The Keys are a series of small islands off the southern tip of Florida that are highly vulnerable to sea level rise, storms and extreme rainfall, among other climate impacts. The plan integrates mitigation and adaptation into existing policies and programs, as well as introduces new ideas based on best practices from around the country. 72 action items or recommendations are incorporated into the plan and are considered critical for climate change resilience, with the priority recommendations all related to climate adaptation.

The Florida Keys are extremely vulnerable to climate impacts and the report states that if “sea-level rise is not curtailed by immediate reductions in greenhouse gases, the Florida Keys may eventually become unlivable.” As a foundation for this plan, Monroe County GIS staff conducted a vulnerability assessment of major infrastructure comparing three sea level rise scenarios. The worst scenario - or three feet of sea level rise - indicates flooding impacts to 28.58% of infrastructure and developed land in the county. One of the major Goals of the plan is to: Create a countywide sea level rise monitoring and adaptation process. This includes the recommendations to: 

  • Develop a monitoring program to evaluate and observe climate change impacts and responses on the natural and built environments within Monroe County. 
  • Develop plans with service providers for the delivery of routine and emergency services to areas impacted by each of the current SLR projections. 
  • Create a framework to evaluate vulnerabilities and prioritize them for adaptation actions.

The plan's recommendations are organized into eight focus areas including: Policy Coordination, Identify and Monitor Risks and Vulnerabilities, Education and Business Development, Natural Systems, Built Environment, Water and Wastewater, Renewable Energy and Solid Waste and Recycling.

Adaptation and resilience goals and objectives identified in the plan are primarily related to natural systems, built environments, and water. In addition to sea level rise strategies, other adaptation recommendations include to:

  • Promote and encourage policies that provide adaptive capacity to species and habitats to respond effectively to changing conditions, especially to those that are particularly vulnerable to climate change.
  • Identify, protect, restore and enhance sites where ‘green infrastructure’ (e.g. mangroves, natural beaches, freshwater wetlands, coastal berms, coral reefs), alone or in combination with built infrastructure can increase resilience of the natural and built environments. 
  • Develop and implement adaptive planning and zoning policies, regulations and programs. 
  • Increase the resiliency of the local drinking water supply.
  • Revise Monroe County’s Comprehensive Plan to address strategic planning related to climate change mitigation and adaptation needs.
  • Require climate change adaptation training for contractors to learn green building practices and to protect the natural shoreline against sea level rise.

Monroe County is one of the members of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact which represents a joint commitment of Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties to partner in climate mitigation and adaptation activities across county lines in the region. The Compact’s Action Plan provides a regional approach to climate adaptation and mitigation in Southeast Florida.

 

 

Publication Date: November 2013

Related Organizations:

  • Monroe County, Florida

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Resource Types:

  • Adaptation plan
  • Plans (other)

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