Federal Climate Change Legislation Safeguarding Nature For People and Wildlife

John KostyackExecutive Director, Wildlife Conservation and

Global WarmingJune 11, 2009

Photo: Larry Master

Arctic summer sea ice, Sept. 2007. Source: NASA

Global Warming is Disrupting Ecosystems in Polar Regions

Mountain Pine Beetle Damage, ColoradoPhoto: Allen L. ThorntonOld Growth Tree Mortality

van Mantgem

et al. (2009)

... and in Temperate Zones

A Problem of Too Little Water...

Blackwater

National Wildlife Refuge

... and Too Much Water

Hurricane Katrina

A Two-Part Agenda for Confronting Global Warming

•

Mitigation: Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; promoting a clean energy economy

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Adaptation: Safeguarding people and wildlife from the impacts of global warming

How Federal Cap-and-Trade Bills Conserve Natural Resources Threatened

by Climate Change•

GHG Emissions Reductions

–

Shifts to Low- Carbon

Technologies–

Carbon Sequestered on Land

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Dedicated Funding for Natural Resources Adaptation

America’s Clean Energy Security (ACES) Act

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Cap Produces 17% GHG Reductions from 2005 Levels by 2020

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U.S. Natural Resources Adaptation Receives Share of Allowance Value

•

U.S Forest / Ag Carbon Sequestration Projects May Be Used to Offset Emissions

Estimated Natural Resources Adaptation Funding under ACES

Share of Allowance Value: 2012 –

2021: 1 percent

2022 –

2026: 2 percent2027 –

2050: 4 percent

Estimated Funding Levels

(based on EPA models)•

2012:

$550 million

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2020: $850 million•

2025: $1.88 billion

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2030: $4.07 billionAvg. Annual Funding Through 2030: $1.7 billion (EPA) to

$2.5 billion (CBO)

How ACES Would Transform How ACES Would Transform ConservationConservation

Eligibility for Large-Scale Adaptation Funding Dependent Upon:

#1: Helping Species, Habitats, Ecosystems, Ecological Processes Survive Climate Change & Ocean Acidification

#2: Consistent with Federal Agency or State Natural Resources Adaptation Plan

Agencies Supported with ACES Funds: Agencies Supported with ACES Funds: Leveraging Opportunities Leveraging Opportunities

••

DOI (wildlife/land/water):DOI (wildlife/land/water):

17%17%

••

DOI (cooperative grants):DOI (cooperative grants):

5%5%

••

DOI (LWCF DOI (LWCF ––

federal):federal):

4%4%

••

DOI (LWCF DOI (LWCF ––

state/tribal):state/tribal):

2%2%

••

USFS (USFS (natnat’’ll

forest/grasslands): forest/grasslands): 5 %5 %

••

USFS (LWCF USFS (LWCF ––

federal):federal):

4%4%

••

USFS (LWCF USFS (LWCF ––

state/tribal):state/tribal):

2% 2%

••

EPA (aEPA (aquatic ecosystems)::

7.5%7.5%

••

Corps (aCorps (aquatic ecosystems): : 5%5%••

NOAA (cNOAA (coastal/estuarine/marine)::

7%7%

••

State Fish and Wildlife AgenciesState Fish and Wildlife Agencies

32.5%32.5%

••

State Coastal AgenciesState Coastal Agencies

6%6%

••

Tribes (Tribal Wildlife Grants): Tribes (Tribal Wildlife Grants): 3%3%

An Historic Opportunity

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Pending climate change legislation presents an historic opportunity to secure large-scale dedicated funding for U.S. land, water and wildlife conservation

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$1B to $6B potentially available each year using adaptation and sequestration provisions

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Federal and state adaptation programs, with guaranteed large-scale funding, could drive much of conservation in the future

Questions?