What else could we do with $57 billion?

We need projects and policy changes that will address our region’s combined risks from major storms, industrial pollution, and infrastructure failures. Actions include:

• Listen to most impacted communities. Help residents most vulnerable to flooding and storm surges make their homes safer, and move people out of harm’s way if needed.
• Work with nature. Prevent further development in the 100-year floodplain and on coastlines, and preserve large expanses of wetlands, prairies, and coastline as natural climate protections.
• Make industry safer. Adopt stricter regulations of harmful chemicals and enforce violations by industrial facilities. Require industrial facilities to adapt to withstand Category 4-5 storms. Make industry comply with existing regulations and pay for own climate protections.
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investing in clean energy sources, particularly solar and offshore wind, and public transportation.
• View engineered solutions as our last resort. The real lesson from the Dutch is to invest in nature and supplement with dikes, not the other way around.