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Climate Change Adaptation and USDA

Producers, ranchers, forest landowners, and communities across the country are facing challenges posed by the effects of climate change. Some of these effects are familiar but occurring more frequently or intensely while others are new and unprecedented.

USDA’s Department-wide Action Plan for Climate Adaptation and Resilience (PDF, 813 KB), released in October 2021, identified mission-wide climate vulnerabilities and cross-cutting actions USDA will take to address these threats.

The 2024-2027 Climate Adaptation Plan builds off the 2021 Action Plan and describes actions the Department is taking to manage risks to its facilities, employees, and lands and to integrate consideration of climate adaptation and resilience into its planning, budget formulation, decision-making, policies, programs, and funding opportunities. These proactive efforts will prepare USDA to better serve and support its stakeholders as they tackle the effects of climate change on their farms, forests, and in their communities.

Climate Vulnerabilities graphic

 

USDA's Adaptation Actions graphic

While producers, ranchers, forest landowners, and communities are already working hard to minimize the impact of these climate stressors, it will become increasingly difficult to manage without strategic planning on the part of USDA’s science, program, and regulatory agencies.

USDA agencies, mission areas, and departmental offices prepared Climate Adaptation Plans, released in July 2022, that build off the Department-wide Plan and focus on addressing climate risks and implementing climate adaptation actions at the agency level.

Actions by USDA Agencies to address the impacts of climate change graphic
Climate Adaptation Plans

Reducing the vulnerability of all of our stakeholders to the impacts of climate change is critical to maintaining competitiveness and sustainably managing our natural resources for future generations.