Climate Science and Policy

Climate change is a global concern that requires international strategies for both mitigation andadaptation. Despite sharing a regional ecosystem and economy, the San Diego-Tijuana borderregion will face the same challenges without a common framework that addresses the collectivesocial and ecological risk posed by climate change. Environmental issues, such as flooding,erosion, and pollution resulting from a long history of rapid urbanization in the region alreadyimpact both sides of the border, particularly disadvantaged communities. This project involved abinational climate vulnerability assessment that evaluated ecological and socioeconomic impactsbeyond geopolitical boundaries to address the need for binational collaboration and cooperationin climate action planning. Results from the binational climate assessment were used to create aBinational Climate Vulnerability Atlas containing maps and narratives as a visual representationof social-ecological vulnerability and risk in the region.The binational climate vulnerability assessment is an evolving deliverable and the first iterationof binational maps and data packaged in the context of climate change and in similar terms forSan Diego-Tijuana. Information synthesized in the Atlas provides a novel composition ofresources available along with recommendations for cross-border climate adaptation planningthat can be used to inform policy from a binational perspective in the future. Therecommendations focused on several themes, including natural climate solutions, partnershipsand collaboration, governance, and science data and sharing. Collectively, this work provides afoundation for a more robust, detailed assessment that would involve cross-border collaborationbetween planners, resources managers, scientists, and other binational stakeholders.