CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND THE NEED FOR A NATIONAL LAND USE POLICY.

Climate change is arguably one of the greatest challenges facing any nation today. While efforts to mitigate climate change by, among other things, reducing greenhouse gas emissions are laudable, they are not enough. The long-lived nature of greenhouse gases means that the world is locked into a certain amount of climate change--and the consequences thereof. Thus, adapting to our new normal is equally as important as preventing further climate change. A great deal of climate adaptation measures involve changing land use patterns, whether that means changing the way we build homes and infrastructure or enforcing managed retreat measures to prevent development in areas at high risk of climate-related disasters. Land use in the United States, however, is hyperlocal--approximately 35,879 local governments across the country enforce their own land use regulations with no legal obligation to coordinate or cooperate with one another. Climate adaptation is too large of an undertaking for any single municipality even in the best of circumstances. Add in uncooperative municipalities and officials that do not believe in climate change to begin with, and the result is a collective action problem of monumental proportions. This Note argues that federal legislation is required to address the problem of climate adaptation. It looks specifically to the Land Use Policy and Planning Assistance Act of 1973, an unsuccessful attempt at harmonizing land use regulation across the United States. This Note suggests the creation of a new Land Use Policy and Planning Act, taking lessons from environmental statutes, like the Clean Air Act, to craft a cooperative federalism solution to climate adaptation through federal grant programs that condition funds on adherence to climate adaptation best practices, regional cooperation, and information sharing. This Note argues that by federalizing climate adaptation, the United States can overcome the collective action problem inherent in our land use traditions and prepare for the climate future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]