The state of Rhode Island and its coastal communities, along with coastal businesses, residents and some inland towns, are beginning to plan for the inevitable implications of climate change. Structures are being raised, barriers are being built and numerous other strategies are being deployed in anticipation of potential devastation in the coming years.
In September 2017, Governor Gina Raimondo appointed Shaun O’Rourke the state’s first chief resilience officer to develop a climate resilience action strategy for addressing the challenges from sea level rise, warming temperatures, increasing storm intensity, inland flooding and changing biodiversity. Called Resilient Rhody, the strategy plan lays out a series of sixty-one actions targeting critical infrastructure, natural environments, emergency preparedness and community health, along with a financing strategy.