White House Asks Public, Private Sectors to Commit by Nov. 1 to Quell Effects of Extreme Heat

On the heels of the hottest August globally in the 175 years that records have been maintained, the White House held the first-ever White House Summit on Extreme Heat on Sept. 13. More than 100 invited participants from around the country and the federal government gathered to discuss ways to protect against extreme heat.

Recognizing that extreme heat is the deadliest of weather-related hazards, the White House convened community representatives at the summit – ranging from workers exposed to extreme heat, healthcare professionals, emergency responders, and researchers and innovators – to discuss lessons learned and to announce a series of new programs and tools to manage extreme heat at home and abroad.

These announcements included a new Extreme Heat Call to Action aimed at the public and private sectors to prepare for future heat events, along with a request to respond to that call by Nov. 1. Communities and organizations that are interested in participating can submit their commitments here.

The administration also announced the Draft Community Heat Action Checklist, available to local governments to help them prepare for extreme heat, and a United States Agency for International Development toolkit to ensure the well-being of agency workforce members during extreme heat events across the world. These initiatives to address the urgent and growing health and humanitarian crisis caused by extreme heat are part of $50 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act investments to facilitate coordination of planning and responses to build climate resilience.

Biden Administration’s Initiative to Combat Extreme Heat

In Sept. 2021, the administration first announced its major interagency initiative to protect workers and communities from extreme heat. This summit and the actions announced are just the most recent steps taken by the current administration as part of this campaign:

• In July 2022, the administration announced 10 ways it was responding to extreme heat that included: lowering cooling costs by providing funding through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and American Rescue Plan to get more air conditioners into homes and establish school and community cooling centers; launching the first national program to protect indoor and outdoor workers from heat stress; funding the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program to help communities increase resilience to heat waves, drought, wildfires, flood, hurricanes, and other hazards by preparing before disaster strikes; and providing real-time data and response resources on extreme heat conditions, preparedness, and response through a new portal at heat.gov.

• In July 2023, a month after heat waves broke records across the country yet again, the administration announced additional measures to protect communities from extreme heat. Actions announced included: establishing two virtual research centers to help communities manage and improve resilience to extreme heat; plans to develop a National Heat Strategy focused on equity and environmental justice that would align with the National Climate Resilience Framework announced a month earlier; and plans to convene local leaders to discuss how the federal government can provide support and better equip communities in managing extreme.

• In July 2024, the administration announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was initiating rulemaking to establish the first national heat standard to protect workers. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 30, and comments are due Dec. 30. The same fact sheet announced $1 billion in FEMA funding for 656 projects across the country to help communities protect against disasters and natural hazards, including extreme heat, storms, and flooding.

• Also in July 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency also released the fifth edition of its Climate Change Indicators in the United States report that highlights how the effects of climate change – including heat waves, sea surface temperatures, coastal flooding, and wildfires – are increasingly affecting people’s health and ecosystems negatively. At the same time, the administration also announced plans for the White House Summit on Extreme Heat.

Call to Action Details

The Extreme Heat Call to Action was the centerpiece of the summit. It encourages communities to commit to these resilience goals set by the National Climate Resilience Framework:

• Embed climate resilience into planning and management
• Increase resilience of the built environment to both acute climate shocks and chronic stressors
• Mobilize capital, investment, and innovation to advance climate resilience at scale
• Equip communities with the information and resources needed to assess their climate risks and develop the climate resilience solutions most appropriate for them
• Protect and sustainably manage lands and waters to enhance resilience while providing numerous other benefits
• Help communities become not only more resilient, but also safer, healthier, and more equitable and economically strong

The Extreme Heat Call to Action also asks communities to lead by example and use all of the tools at their disposal to protect people from extreme heat. According to the White House, some of these tools that are highlighted in the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit and the focused National Heat Strategy Community Health from Extreme Heat include:

• Long-term adaptation and resilience actions, like improving tree canopy and installing new cooling infrastructure
• Heat planning actions, like running a heat tabletop exercise or creating a community phone tree in partnership with trusted community partners
• Heat preparedness actions, like equipping emergency responders and healthcare providers with new resources to address extreme heat
• Heat response actions, like opening new Resilience Hubs or cooling centers during extreme heat events
• Heat recovery actions, such as establishing new ways to track progress on key heat and health metrics

Most recently, the EPA also announced the availability of a new Climate Resilience and Adaptation Funding Toolbox that is designed to provide technical support to help potential applicants for EPA financial assistance learn about and secure support for climate-smart investments and “particularly communities that are just getting started and have historically been unable to access federal dollars.” These tools are available for communities and other organizations to facilitate implementation of their commitments to protect people from extreme heat.

For more information, please contact the Barnes & Thornburg attorney with whom you work or Bruce White at 312-214-4584 or bwhite@btlaw.com.

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