By: DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes and DOT Deputy Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto
The scientific evidence is indisputable and overwhelming. Connecticut residents are impacted every day by the climate crisis. Inaction now would worsen and extend the real consequences already being felt.
Here in Connecticut, as in every other part of the world, we are already experiencing the impacts of climate change from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions already released into the atmosphere. These impacts will accelerate between now and 2050, including rising seas, higher temperatures, heavier rainfall events, more frequent droughts, and hurricanes with stronger winds and more precipitation.
For Fairfield County, this means a more significant risk to property and adverse health impacts. The good news is that climate modeling shows us that temperatures will stabilize after 2050 if we reduce emissions now, and the Governor’s climate bills provide essential steps to both mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis.
In 2018, the estimated insured value of Connecticut coastal property exposures was $754 billion, the 6th highest of the Atlantic and Gulf states. As a percentage of a state’s total insured values, Connecticut is 2nd only to Florida, with coastal property making up 66% of its statewide total insured value.
If we do not take continued mitigation and adaptation measures, consumers may have issues obtaining adequate insurance. Rates will continue to increase, or worse, insurers may leave the market altogether.
To protect Connecticut communities from extreme weather events, we will need to reinvest in resilient infrastructure by taking both a “grey” and “green” infrastructure approach. We will need to prevent flooding to our critical emergency, energy, water, and transportation infrastructure through relocation, elevation or installation of flood barriers and pump stations. Also, we will need to use nature-based solutions like rain gardens, bioswales, and living shorelines that prevent erosion, absorb precipitation and provide ecosystem services to communities.
Governor Lamont’s climate change adaptation bill (HB 6441) provides municipalities with new funding tools to kick start these projects. The bill enables municipalities to create stormwater authorities and expand the scope of flood and erosion control boards. The bill also expands the opportunities for the Connecticut Green Bank, building upon its success in the clean energy sector to now include investment in adaptation and resilience projects through the bank. This strategy has worked well for neighboring Rhode Island.
Last month, the American Lung Association released an annual air quality report, which showed Fairfield County to be the 19th most polluted county in the nation for ozone pollution. Fairfield County is the only non-western county in the top 25. According to the ALA, anyone who spends time outdoors where ozone pollution levels are high may be at risk, especially children, the elderly, and people with existing lung diseases, such as asthma. Climate change is expected to increase the number of high-temperature, high-risk days five-fold by 2050.
In direct costs, Connecticut already incurs more than $100 million a year in acute care charges due to asthma. Populations most afflicted by asthma are people of color, with a prevalence rate of almost twice white communities. This pattern is mirrored when categorized by household income, with people with low income experiencing asthma at a rate more than double households with a greater than $75 thousand annual income.
Transportation emissions are the leading source of both ozone-causing pollutants and GHGs. Implementing TCI (Senate Bill 884) is the most immediate and impactful step we can take to combat climate-altering emissions, reduce pollution, and address racial injustices. It will reduce transportation carbon pollution by 26percent by 2030, and generate $1 billion in investments in electric cars and buses, bike paths, and expanded transit service, while prioritizing communities that have been underserved by our transportation system and overburdened by air pollution from vehicle traffic.
“These bills place Connecticut at the forefront of the nation and the region’s efforts to address climate change and continue the state’s long record of leadership on this critical issue,” Governor Lamont said. “The climate crisis is upon us, and its effects will only become more apparent in the years to come. We need to adapt to this reality and continue to take bold action to fight it.”