WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released a new set of guidelines which would require governors to “address climate change” in their emergency preparedness plans to receive funds for that purpose.
FEMA’s requirement could put many GOP Governors, including Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, in a bind, considering how much the state encounters severe weather such as hurricanes and tornadoes.
While the rules wouldn’t withhold funds after a major natural disaster, they could affect states’ abilities to adequately prepare for the certain eventuality of a strong storm or earthquake.
Rick Scott of Florida, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Chris Christie of New Jersey, Pat McCrory of North Carolina, and Greg Abbott of Texas could all be affected by FEMA’s new rule.
Since 2010 FEMA has given states and territories more than $4.6 billion in grants to prepare for disasters, and states are required to submit their emergency preparedness plans every 5 years. The requirement to acknowledge climate change was not part of the agency’s 2008 iteration of the rules for those plans.
Eight of the ten states who received this type of FEMA money between 2010 and 2014 are led by Republicans.
According to FEMA spokeswoman Susan Hendrick, the agency included the new rule to “raise awareness and support for implementing the actions in the mitigation strategy and increasing statewide resilience to natural hazards.”
Yellowhammer reached out to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s office for comment, but did not received an answer by press time.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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