SCR50 - Maladaptation.

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 50 CHAPTER 149 Relative to climate change. [ Filed with Secretary of State July 18, 2025. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SCR 50, Stern. Maladaptation. This measure would, among other things, recognize the serious and urgent threat maladaptation poses to the success and cost effectiveness of the state’s climate resilience actions. Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill Text WHEREAS, California is experiencing the unprecedented effects of a changing climate that are projected to worsen with even moderate increases in carbon dioxide emissions over the currently estimated 424 parts per million, far above the baseline for a stable environment of 280 parts per million; and WHEREAS, Exceptionally dry conditions and hurricane-force winds caused the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area and led to the deaths of 29 people, the destruction of more than 5,000 structures, the displacement of over 100,000 people, a sixteenfold rise in hospital visits due to smoke exposure, and a projected economic loss of over $250 billion; and WHEREAS, The duration and severity of multiyear wet or dry periods impact California’s social, economic, and natural systems throughout the state and 2025 is expected to be another drought year; and WHEREAS, Researchers from the University of California, Davis, estimate that in 2015 alone the drought cost California’s agricultural economy $1.84 billion and led to the loss of over 10,000 jobs; the University of California, Los Angeles, found the 22-year-long southwest North American megadrought is the region’s driest two decades in 1,200 years; and WHEREAS, Climate change is predicted to increase both the strength of atmospheric rivers and the frequency of 1-in-1,000-year storms, like those that struck the central coast City of Pajaro in 2023 and the City of Los Angeles in 2024; and WHEREAS, Extreme heat events are becoming longer lasting, more frequent, and more intense. In the 2022 California coastal inland event alone, there were nearly 200 deaths, more than 140 adverse birth outcomes, over 2,000 hospitalizations, and over 4,200 emergency department visits, all attributable to the extreme heat that affected 34,000,000 people over 14 days with most of the impacts experienced in the health and safety sector; and WHEREAS, While climate change affects everyone, people of color, immigrants, the elderly, women, California Native American tribes, and lower-income populations experience increased exposure and sensitivity to climate hazards and a reduced capacity to adapt; and WHEREAS, California’s climate adaptation strategy recognizes that climate change threatens communities and natural places in every part of our state for centuries to come; and WHEREAS, Avoiding maladaptation means examining any action taken by the state that is ineffective or increases the adverse risk of climate-related outcomes and is crucial to facing the climate crisis our state faces; and WHEREAS, Only two state planning documents, the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation’s (GO-LCI) Planning and Investing for a Resilient California and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services’ California Adaptation Planning Guide, cite processes that avoid maladaptation, indicating that maladaptation-avoidant strategies are not widely dispersed nor comprehensive and deliberate; and WHEREAS, The costs associated with direct climate impacts by 2050, totaling approximately $113 billion per year, are predominately composed of human mortality, damages to coastal properties, and the threat of droughts and megafloods; and WHEREAS, These costs will continue to grow, but by taking proactive steps now and integrating a deliberate approach intended to avoid maladaptation, California can minimize future disruption and enable communities, infrastructure, and natural systems to withstand changing average conditions and extreme events; and WHEREAS, According to a 2024 Climate Resiliency Report, every $1 spent preparing for climate disasters is worth $13 in saved economic costs for the community; and WHEREAS, Because adaptation investments are primarily publicly funded, the costs of adaptation programs and their resulting benefits must be carefully considered to justify efficient spending and resource allocation; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the serious and urgent threat maladaptation poses to the success and cost effectiveness of the state’s climate resilience actions; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature calls on the GO-LCI to work with other state departments, researchers, and communities to develop and adopt a statewide policy with an agreed upon definition for maladaptation and to evaluate the effectiveness of measures to improve climate resilience; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon GO-LCI to review its policies and plans in the state’s Adaptation Clearinghouse database and evaluate their progress to determine if any have or are likely to be maladapted; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.