White House to host event on climate change resilience

Top Obama administration officials will gather Wednesday to discuss efforts in government and the private sector to prepare for the effects of climate change.

“The Obama administration recognizes that even as we act to curb the carbon pollution that is driving climate change, we must also improve our ability to prepare for climate impacts that are already occurring across the country,” the White House said in a Monday statement.

Discussions will focus on the data and technologies that are being used to predict the effects of climate change and help businesses and communities understand and prepare for those effects, the White House said.

The event will include John Podesta, an advisor to the president; Kathryn Sullivan, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Rebecca Moore, founder of Google Inc.’s Earth Engine; and Joel Dunn, executive director of the Chesapeake Conservancy, among others.

Some of the government and private sector representatives will announce new initiatives or projects at the event, the White House said.

The event follows Obama’s 2015 budget request, unveiled March 4, which seeks $1 billion for a resilience fund to mitigate what his administration sees as effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and wildfires. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, called the proposal a waste of taxpayer money.