The Washington Climate Change Impacts Assessment: Evaluating Washington’s Future in a Changing Climate (Climate Impacts Group 2009) provides the first-ever comprehensive look at how climate change stands to impact important ecological and economic sectors in Washington State.

The Washington Climate Change Impacts Assessment concludes that historical resource management strategies will not be sufficient to meet the challenges of future changes in climate — rather, these changes demand new strategies. The Assessment addresses the need for adaptive planning and presents preliminary adaptation options for each sector.

FULL REPORT

Project Background

The assessment was commissioned by the Washington State legislature in 2007, and is written to inform experts desiring to incorporate climate change information into their work managing water, hydropower, public health or natural resources, as well as policymakers seeking to shape such work.

Funding and Acknowledgements

The research described in the Washington Climate Change Impacts Assessment was funded by the Washington State Legislature under House Bill 1303 (2007), which mandated the preparation of a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of climate change on the state of Washington.

The Washington State Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (now: Commerce) and the Department of Ecology worked with the Climate Impacts Group (in collaboration with Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) to produce this comprehensive assessment.

Related studies and resources

The Washington State of Knowledge Report (2013) provides technical summaries detailing observed and projected changes for Washington’s climate, water resources, forests, species and ecosystems, coasts and ocean, infrastructure, agriculture, and human health in an easy-to-read summary format designed to complement the foundational literature from which it draws.

State of Knowledge: Climate Change in Puget Sound (2015) is a comprehensive synthesis report summarizing relevant research on the likely effects of climate change on the lands, water and people of the Puget Sound region.

Climate Change in the Northwest: Implications for Our Landscapes, Waters, and Communities (2013, published by Island Press) assesses the state of knowledge about key climate impacts and consequences to various sectors and communities in the Pacific Northwest.

WA State of KnowledgePuget Sound State of KnowlegeClimate Change in the Northwest

Individual Chapters

Journal articles based on the Washington Assessment were published in 2010 as a special issue of the journal Climatic Change. Each individual chapter from the Assessment is linked below.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (Climate Impacts Group)

CHAPTER 1 | Future Climate in the Pacific Northwest (Mote and Salathé 2009)

CHAPTER 2 | Regional Climate Modeling (Salathé et al. 2009)

CHAPTER 3a | Implications of 21st Century Climate Change for the Hydrology of Washington State (Elsner et al. 2009)

CHAPTER 3b | Climate Change Impacts on Water Management in the Puget Sound Region, Washington, USA (Vano et al. 2009a)

CHAPTER 3c | Climate Change Impacts on Water Management and Irrigated Agriculture in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA (Vano et al. 2009b)

CHAPTER 4 | Effects of Projected Climate Change on Energy Supply and Demand in the Pacific Northwest and Washington State (Hamlet 2009)

CHAPTER 5 | Assessment of Climate Change Impact on Eastern Washington Agriculture (Stöckle et al. 2009)

CHAPTER 6 | Impacts of Climate Change on Key Aspects of Freshwater Salmon Habitat in Washington State (Mantua et al. 2009)

CHAPTER 7 | Forest Ecosystems, Disturbances, and Climatic Change in Washington State, USA (Littell et al. 2009)

CHAPTER 8 | Impacts of Climate Change on the Coasts of Washington State (Huppert et al. 2009)

CHAPTER 9 | Precipitation Extremes and the Impacts of Climate Change on Stormwater Infrastructure in Washington State (Rosenberg et al. 2009)

CHAPTER 10 | Public Health Impacts of Climate Change in Washington State: Projected Mortality Risks Due to Heat Events and Air Pollution (Jackson et al. 2009)

CHAPTER 11 | Preparing for Climate Change in Washington State (Whitely Binder et al. 2009, 1 MB)