Commissioner Kristin Jacobs selected to Co-Chair President Obama’s Subgroup of the Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience
By Kimberly Maroe
In recognition of her leadership in preparing South Florida for the impacts of climate change, Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs was selected to Co-Chair a subgroup of President Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. Commissioner Jacobs along with Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia will co-chair the subgroup, Built Systems: Transportation, Water, Energy & Facilities Infrastructure. The task force will advise the Administration on how the Federal Government can respond to the needs of communities nationwide that are dealing with extreme weather and other climate impacts.
“It has been an honor serving on the President Obama’s task force on climate change. Being Co-Chair of the Built Systems subgroup will be a great opportunity to advocate for policies to help South Florida and the country prepare our infrastructure for future challenges. Our subgroup will focus on the infrastructure areas of water, energy, transportation and facilities. Since Broward County is particularly effected by climate change issues our experience will be important to share.” said Jacobs.
President Obama established the Task Force as part of his Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution, prepare communities for the impacts of climate change that cannot be avoided, and lead international efforts to address this global challenge. The Task Force is charged with developing recommendations on how the Federal government can better support local preparedness and resilience-building efforts. It will provide recommendations on removing barriers to resilient investments, modernizing grant and loan programs to better support local efforts, and developing information and tools to better serve communities. The Task Force will meet in person three times between now and July 2014. The first meeting took place at the White House in December and the next meeting will take place in Los Angeles, California in February. The task force will deliver its recommendations to the President within one year.
