Climate Adaptation
Managing the effects of climate change
Image courtesy flickr user SP8254
In the fight against climate change, the Bay Area has two important responsibilities. We must reduce our carbon emissions through better regional planning, and we must prepare for some inevitable environmental change. SPUR's research and recommendations are laying the groundwork for how local governments can plan for both of these challenges.
This initiative is generously supported by grants from the Urban Land Institute and San Francisco Foundation.
Lead staff: Laura Tam, Sustainable Development Policy Director, ltam@spur.org
Featured Publications
San Francisco Bay Shoreline Adaptation Atlas
Working with nature to plan for sea level rise
As the climate continues to change, communities will need to adapt the San Francisco Bay shoreline to rising sea levels. But the Bay’s varied landscapes and overlapping jurisdictions make a coordinated response challenging. The San Francisco Bay Shoreline Adaptation Atlas proposes a new regional planning framework by dividing the 400-mile Bay shoreline into 30 distinct geographic areas that share common physical characteristics and adaptation strategies.
Climate Change Hits Home
Adaptation strategies for the San Francisco Bay Area
Global efforts to slow climate change by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions have largely failed. As a result we must not only intensify our efforts to reduce climate change but start preparing for its inevitable effects. In this report, SPUR recommends more than 30 strategies for local and regional agencies to begin minimizing the region’s vulnerabilities to these long-term but potentially catastrophic effects.
Future-Proof Water
Where the Bay Area should get its water in the 21st century
More than two-thirds of the Bay Area’s water is imported from outside the region. Today these supplies are regularly threatened by drought, earthquakes and water quality impairments — risks that will intensify with climate change. Meanwhile, our region will add 2 million more people by 2040 — growth that will require more water. Do we have the water we need to support this projected growth?
The Ocean Beach Master Plan
A comprehensive vision for a more sustainable future on San Francisco’s Pacific coast
As climate-induced sea level rise sets in, erosion at San Francisco's Ocean Beach will continue to worsen. Working with government agencies, community groups and the public, SPUR has developed a landmark climate adaptation and open space plan for Ocean Beach.
The Great Dithering
Can we act decisively enough to avert catastrophic climate change?
Climate change is not just a problem of the distant future — it's happening now. Our task, then, is contradictory: We need to fight it even as we to learn to live with it. But can we act decisively enough to avert catastrophe?
Sea Level Rise and the Future of the Bay Area
How will we adapt to changing tides?
Strategies for Managing Sea Level Rise
The advantages and disadvantages of seven strategies to manage sea level rise
Critical Cooling
42 options to reduce emissions in San Francisco — some better than others
In the fight against global warming, there are many things San Francisco can do. In this report, SPUR evaluated 42 options for the city to reduce carbon emissions in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Recent News
Integrating Planning With Nature
SPUR ReportOver the next century, the San Francisco Bay Area will face three major challenges: adapting to a changing climate, adding infill development to accommodate a growing population, and maintaining natural and working lands in the face of development pressure. A new report outlines how nature-based solutions can maximize community preparedness for future climate conditions while providing a wide variety of benefits to people and ecosystems.
Bold Moves on Building Electrification in the San Francisco Bay Area
News /The Bay Area’s three largest cities made headlines recently when they passed bold new rules to phase out fossil fuels in buildings. San José, San Francisco and Oakland now have plans to make most new construction all-electric. These actions will make the air cleaner to breathe and slash the region’s contributions to climate change.
SPUR Supports the Expansion of San José's Natural Gas Prohibition Ordinance
Policy LetterIn 2019, San José showed extraordinary climate leadership in prohibiting natural gas in new residential construction, joining a regional movement to decarbonize the built environment. Electrifying buildings brings multiple benefits: it reduces San José’s climate emissions and increases energy resilience in the face of increasing wildfire threats. All-electric buildings eliminate the air pollutants from natural gas combustion and are more cost-effective to build.
Funding California’s Fight Against Climate Change
News /What could California do to limit climate change and clean the air if the state had $30 billion to spend in the next 10 years? Climate change policy leaders gathered to tackle this question at an October 1 convening organized by SPUR and Move LA. On the table is a potential ballot measure that could go before California voters in November 2022.
SPUR Urges the California Energy Commission to Set Strong Decarbonization Requirements
Policy LetterUnder current policies, California is projected to miss its 2030 climate goal, emitting 25 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide equivalent over the goal of 259 MMT. To correct course, the state needs to move expediently to electrify buildings. SPUR urges staff to set strong decarbonization requirements by tightening the gas baseline, in order to lead to broad adoption of all-electric new construction.
Four Key Actions to Solve for Coastal Flooding and Sea Level Rise in the Bay Area: a Governance Proposal
News /Around the San Francisco Bay, a number of different processes are underway to address sea level rise, coastal flooding and other climate change impacts on the Bay shoreline. To bring all of these efforts together and make sure they complement — rather than compete with — one another, SPUR and SFEI propose four policy ideas for how to govern adaptation strategies across the region.