	Climate-Related and Extreme Weather Impacts on Infrastructure and Federal Lands Increase Federal Fiscal Exposures

As our past work has found, climate-related and extreme weather impacts  on physical infrastructure such as buildings, roads, and bridges, as well  as on federal lands, increase federal fiscal exposures. Climate-  Thus, infrastructure designs  related impacts can increase the operating and maintenance costs of  infrastructure and federal lands or decrease the infrastructure’s life span,  leading to increased fiscal exposures for the federal government that are  not fully reflected in the budget. Key examples from our recent work  include (1) Department of Defense (DOD) facilities, (2) other large federal  facilities such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)  centers, and (3) federal lands such as National Parks. DOD Facilities

DOD manages a global real-estate portfolio that includes over 555,000  facilities and 28 million acres of land with a replacement value that DOD  estimates at close to $850 billion. As we reported  in May 2014, this infrastructure is vulnerable to the potential impacts of  climate change, including increased drought and more frequent and  severe extreme weather events in certain locations. In its 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, DOD stated that the impacts of  climate change may increase the frequency, scale, and complexity of  future missions, while undermining the capacity of domestic installations  to support training activities. 1). Other Large Federal Facilities

The federal government owns and operates hundreds of thousands of  non-defense buildings and facilities that a changing climate could affect. In total, these NASA assets—many of which are  located in vulnerable coastal areas—represent more than $32 billion in  current replacement value. The federal government manages nearly 30 percent of the land in the  United States for a variety of purposes, such as recreation, grazing,  timber, and habitat for fish and wildlife. Specifically, federal agencies  manage natural resources on about 650 million acres of land, including  401 national park units and 155 national forests. As we reported in May  2013, these resources are vulnerable to changes in the climate, including  increases in air and water temperatures, wildfires, and drought; forests  stressed by drought becoming more vulnerable to insect infestations;  rising sea levels; and reduced snow cover and retreating glaciers. Appropriations  for the federal government’s wildland fire management activities have  tripled, averaging over $3 billion annually in recent years, up from about  $1 billion in fiscal year 1999. Improved Climate- Related Technical Assistance to All Levels of Government Can Help Limit Federal Fiscal Exposures

As we have previously reported, improved climate-related technical  assistance to all levels of government can help limit federal fiscal  exposures. Federal Decision Makers

The Executive Office of the President and federal agencies have many  efforts underway to increase the resilience of federal infrastructure and  programs. State and Local Decision Makers

The federal government invests tens of billions of dollars annually in  infrastructure projects prioritized and supervised by state and local  governments. According to a  2010 Congressional Budget Office report, total public spending on  transportation and water infrastructure exceeds $300 billion annually, with  roughly 25 percent of this amount coming from the federal government   However, the  and the rest coming from state and local governments. In our April 2013 report, we concluded that the federal government could  help state and local efforts to increase their resilience by (1) improving  access to and use of available climate-related information, (2) providing  officials with improved access to technical assistance, and (3) helping  officials consider climate change in their planning processes. This work may help  identify other steps the federal government could take to limit its fiscal  exposure and make our communities more resilient to extreme weather  events. This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the  United States.
Why GAO Did This Study

Certain types of extreme weather events have become more frequent or intense according to the United States Global Change Research Program, including prolonged periods of heat, heavy downpours, and, in some regions, floods and droughts. While it is not possible to link any individual weather event to climate change, the impacts of these events affect many sectors of our economy, including the budgets of federal, state, and local governments.
GAO focuses particular attention on government operations it identifies as posing a “high risk” to the American taxpayer and, in February 2013, added to its High Risk List the area Limiting the Federal Government's Fiscal Exposure by Better Managing Climate Change Risks . GAO's past work has identified a variety of fiscal exposures—responsibilities, programs, and activities that may explicitly or implicitly expose the federal government to future spending.
This testimony is based on reports GAO issued from August 2007 to May 2014, and discusses (1) federal fiscal exposures resulting from climate-related and extreme weather impacts on critical infrastructure and federal lands, and (2) how improved federal technical assistance to all levels of government can help reduce climate-related fiscal exposures.
GAO is not making new recommendations but has made numerous recommendations in prior reports on this topic, which are in varying states of implementation by the Executive Office of the President and federal agencies.

What GAO Found

Climate change and related extreme weather impacts on infrastructure and federal lands increase fiscal exposures that the federal budget does not fully reflect. Investing in resilience—actions to reduce potential future losses rather than waiting for an event to occur and paying for recovery afterward—can reduce the potential impacts of climate-related events. Implementing resilience measures creates additional up-front costs but could also confer benefits, such as a reduction in future damages from climate-related events. Key examples of vulnerable infrastructure and federal lands GAO has identified include:
Department of Defense (DOD) facilities. DOD manages a global real-estate portfolio that includes over 555,000 facilities and 28 million acres of land with a replacement value DOD estimates at close to $850 billion. This infrastructure is vulnerable to the potential impacts of climate change and related extreme weather events. For example, in May 2014, GAO reported that a military base in the desert Southwest experienced a rain event in August 2013 in which about 1 year's worth of rain fell in 80 minutes. The flooding caused by the storm damaged more than 160 facilities, 8 roads, 1 bridge, and 11,000 linear feet of fencing, resulting in an estimated $64 million in damages.
Other large federal facilities. The federal government owns and operates hundreds of thousands of other facilities that a changing climate could affect. For example, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) manages more than 5,000 buildings and other structures. GAO reported in April 2013 that, in total, these NASA assets—many of which are in coastal areas vulnerable to storm surge and sea level rise—represent more than $32 billion in current replacement value.
Federal lands. The federal government manages nearly 30 percent of the land in the United States—about 650 million acres of land—including 401 national park units and 155 national forests. GAO reported in May 2013 that these resources are vulnerable to changes in the climate, including the possibility of more frequent and severe droughts and wildfires. Appropriations for federal wildland fire management activities have tripled since 1999, averaging over $3 billion annually in recent years.
GAO has reported that improved climate-related technical assistance to all levels of government can help limit federal fiscal exposures. The federal government invests tens of billions of dollars annually in infrastructure projects that state and local governments prioritize, such as roads and bridges. Total public spending on transportation and water infrastructure exceeds $300 billion annually, with about 25 percent coming from the federal government and the rest from state and local governments. GAO's April 2013 report on infrastructure adaptation concluded that the federal government could help state and local efforts to increase their resilience by (1) improving access to and use of available climate-related information, (2) providing officials with improved access to technical assistance, and (3) helping officials consider climate change in their planning processes.