Climate change affects the mission and programs of the Department of Commerce (DOC) and its agencies, and these effects are likely to continue. Congress authorizes and funds DOC's missions and programs, which are wide-ranging, with relevance to trade enforcement, economic development, innovation support, entrepreneurship and business development, standard setting, environmental monitoring, weather forecasting, marine resources management, and statistical research and analysis

Given the diversity of DOC's responsibilities, how climate change may affect DOC and its activities varies. For example,

• DOC supports U.S. commerce. Various sectors of U.S. commerce depend on natural resources that are vulnerable to climate change impacts; these sectors include agriculture, recreation, tourism, and fisheries.¹
• DOC supports U.S. trade. Climate change is expected to have increasing effects on U.S. trade considerations, including import and export prices, and on the nation's built infrastructure, such as energy and transportation systems.²
• DOC supports U.S. communities and ecosystems. For example, coastal communities and ecosystems are threatened by sea-level rise and storm surge.³

Congress has considered and may continue to consider how climate change may affect DOC and its agencies' mission and programs. For a discussion of how climate change adaptation activities were defined and tracked in this report, see the shaded text box entitled "Defining and Tracking Climate Change Adaptation Activities at the Department of Commerce" below.

This report provides an overview of selected DOC statutory authorities, executive orders, and departmental and agency guidance related to climate change adaptation activities. Each section contains a brief background of the department or agency and an overview of its climate change adaptation activities. The report also presents information on DOC spending on climate change adaptation where available. The last section of the report discusses potential issues for Congress to consider related to climate change adaptation activities and spending. This report is not intended to be a comprehensive review of DOC's climate change activities—the information should be considered illustrative rather than exhaustive.

Department of Commerce

DOC comprises 11 agencies, in addition to the offices of the DOC Under Secretary and Secretary. DOC's self-stated mission is to "create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity." As noted above, the department has wide-ranging responsibilities (Table 1). In FY2021, Congress appropriated over $8.9 billion to support DOC mission areas and facilities.⁴

Departmental Climate Change Adaptation Activities

To date, executive orders and other presidential documents have prompted much of the department's climate change adaptation-related actions. Most DOC-level statutory authorities regarding climate change adaptation have been delegated to NOAA.⁵ One exception is the establishment of the U.S. Global Change Research Program.⁶ The program includes representatives from two DOC agencies: NOAA (required by law) and NIST (added by the President, who has the discretion to add agencies to the program).⁷

Executive Orders and Other Presidential Documents

Several executive orders and other executive documents have shaped climate change adaptation activities at the department level over the past decade or so (Table 2). Multiple executive orders and a presidential memorandum issued between 2009 and 2016 by President Barack Obama required federal departments, including DOC, to support or implement climate change adaptation activities. In 2017 and 2018, President Donald Trump issued new executive orders that revoked some previous orders.⁸

Starting in 2021, President Joe Biden, through executive orders, revoked in whole or in part multiple Trump Administration executive orders that themselves had revoked several Obama Administration presidential documents related to DOC and climate change adaptation. The Biden Administration revocations effectively reinstated some of the Obama Administration presidential documents. The Biden Administration executive orders also required new activities related to climate change adaptation. See Table 2 for descriptions of the orders and any changes to the orders since their release.

Executive Orders with a Geographic Focus

Other executive orders require DOC to support climate change adaptation activities in certain geographic areas. For example, E.O. 13508, "Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration," issued in May 2009, requires a senior representative from DOC, among other departments, to serve on the executive order-established Federal Leadership Committee. The executive order identifies DOC and the Department of the Interior (DOI) as the lead agencies to "assess the impacts of a changing climate on the Chesapeake Bay and develop a strategy for adapting natural resource programs and public infrastructure to the impacts of a changing climate on water quality and living resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed," among other topics, in a report to the Federal Leadership Committee.⁹ E.O. 13508 also requires DOC and DOI "to the extent permitted by law, [to] organize and conduct research and scientific assessments to support development of the strategy to adapt to climate change impacts on the Chesapeake Bay watershed ... and to evaluate the impacts of climate change on the Chesapeake Bay in future years."¹⁰ E.O. 13508 is still in force as of the date of this report.

E.O. 13554, "Establishing the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force," issued in October 2010, required a DOC senior official to be a part of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.¹¹ The task force's functions included coordination of "intergovernmental efforts to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation of Gulf Coast ecosystem restoration actions," with ecosystem restoration defined to include "protecting and conserving ecosystems so that they can continue to ... assist in mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change," among other functions.¹² E.O. 13626, "Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration," released in September 2012, revoked E.O. 13554, terminating the task force and charging the congressionally created Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council with incorporating the task force's findings into its own comprehensive plan.¹³ Under statute, the council must include the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary's designee at the level of Assistant Secretary or the equivalent.¹⁴ E.O. 13626 is still in force as of the date of this report.

E.O. 13689, "Enhancing Coordination of National Efforts in the Arctic," issued in January 2015, requires the Deputy Secretary or equivalent officer from DOC to be part of the Arctic Executive Steering Committee (AESC). AESC is expected to provide guidance to executive departments and agencies and enhance coordination of federal Arctic policies across federal and nonfederal entities.¹⁵ The executive order's policy findings note that the United States has the responsibility to "understand more fully and manage more effectively the adverse effects of climate change" and to "protect life and property," among others.¹⁶ E.O. 13754, "Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience," released December 2016, established a task force on the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area under AESC, cochaired by NOAA, DOI, and the U.S. Coast Guard.¹⁷ The executive order charged the task force with advancing "the policy of the United States to enhance the resilience of the northern Bering Sea region," but did not define the term resilience. E.O. 13689 remains in force as of the date of this report. E.O. 13754 (and its task force) was revoked by E.O. 13795, "Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy," in April 2017.¹⁸ E.O. 13990 revoked E.O. 13795 in January 2021, thereby reinstating E.O. 13754. In April 2020, GAO noted that AESC was "dormant."¹⁹

DOC Departmental Guidance

DOC responded to several executive orders by developing departmental administrative orders and guidance documents. Two executive orders, E.O. 13514 and E.O. 13653, issued in October 2009 and November 2013 respectively, drove DOC to develop most of its climate change adaptation guidance, until the revocation of the executive orders in March 2015 and March 2017, respectively.²⁰ It is unclear what actions the department may take moving forward with the reinstatement of E.O. 13653 by E.O. 13990 in January 2021. A timeline of DOC actions, based on available information, is presented below.

• In 2011, DOC released Departmental Administrative Order (DAO) 216-18.²¹ DAO 216-18 stated it was "the policy of the Department to undertake comprehensive climate change adaptation planning in order to ensure that the Department fulfills its mission and maintains its programs and operations in a changing climate."²² DAO 216-18 identified six ways DOC was working to "promote a more climate-resilient economy, society and environment."²³ DAO 216-18 also established a Climate Coordinating Committee to develop DOC's Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (CCAS; also known as an agency adaptation plan).
• In June 2012, DOC released the CCAS as an appendix to the updated DOC Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSSP).²⁴
• In June 2014, DOC published an updated CCAS which reflected lessons learned since the first strategy, and incorporated guidance provided by the White House Council on Environmental Quality on implementing the then-newly released E.O. 13653.²⁵ The 2014 CCAS included key findings from DOC's climate change vulnerability assessment;²⁶ DOC five-year strategic goals for adaptation planning; priority agency adaptation actions to implement in FY2014; and DOC-wide activities, such as interagency coordination, actions to modernize federal program and policy, and opportunities to support nonfederal entities.
• In 2016, DOC released an updated SSSP, which mentioned the development of a 2016 DOC climate change adaptation plan and noted "significant progress" on many of the actions in the 2014 CCAS.²⁷ CRS was unable to locate the 2016 DOC climate change adaptation plan.²⁸ The 2016 SSSP outlined several climate change resilience strategies the department planned to prioritize in FY2017, including department- and agency-level activities.²⁹ One of the SSSP's priorities was to update DAO 216-18 by the end of 2017; however, the DAO has not been revised since its release in 2011.³⁰

Under statute, federal agencies are required to publish a strategic plan one year after a President's term begins.³¹ Although DOC's 2018-2022 strategic plan includes a goal to "strengthen U.S. economic and national security" through reducing extreme weather impacts, among other activities, the plan does not refer to climate change, adaptation, or similar terms.³² In contrast, previous DOC strategic plans explicitly noted adaptation to climate change. For example, the 2014-2018 DOC strategic plan included a goal to "help communities and businesses prepare for and prosper in a changing environment."³³ Objectives under this goal included

• advancing the understanding and prediction of changes in the environment;
• building a weather-ready nation;
• strengthening the resiliency of communities and regions;
• fostering healthy and sustainable marine resources, habitats, and ecosystems; and
• enabling U.S. businesses to adapt and prosper by developing environmental and climate-informed solutions.³⁴

The 2014-2018 strategic plan specifically cited "climate change" as a motivating factor in strengthening community resiliency and fostering healthy and sustainable marine resources.

The 2011-2016 DOC strategic plan also included related objectives under the goals to "generate and communicate new, cutting-edge scientific understanding of technical, economic, social, and environmental systems" and "promote economically-sound environmental stewardship and science." These objectives included

• increasing scientific knowledge and providing information to stakeholders to support economic growth and to improve innovation, technology, and public safety;
• enabling informed decisionmaking through an expanded understanding of the U.S. economy, society, and environment by providing timely, relevant, trusted and accurate data, standards, and services;
• improving weather, water, and climate reporting and forecasting;
• supporting climate adaptation and mitigation;
• developing sustainable and resilient fisheries, habitats, and species; and
• supporting coastal communities that are environmentally and economically sustainable.³⁵

DOC Climate Change Adaptation Activities at the Agency Level

Agency-specific directives and guidance—in addition to DOC-level congressional directives and executive branch guidance—dictate agency climate change adaptation activities. The following subsections discuss DOC agency-specific statutory authorities, executive orders, and guidance documents for agencies included in and omitted from the 2014 CCAS. DOC identified NOAA as the lead office in the implementation of 14 of the 20 priority adaptation actions in the 2014 CCAS; therefore, the majority of this section focuses on NOAA's responsibilities and activities.

DOC tasked agencies other than NOAA, such as the Economic Development Administration (EDA), International Trade Association (ITA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), with priority adaptation actions in the 2014 CCAS. Overall, current congressional directives and executive guidance require a smaller role for these agencies in carrying out climate change adaptation in comparison to NOAA's responsibilities.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration³⁶

In contrast to other DOC agencies, NOAA was established through congressional approval of the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970.³⁷ Since then, Congress has shaped NOAA's responsibilities and authorities through more than 100 statutes, ranging from broad departmental and agency requirements to specific program activities.³⁸ Executive orders and departmental directives provide further guidance to the agency.

NOAA is organized into six line offices, each with different primary missions, as well as a Mission Support office that supports the agency as a whole.³⁹ Line offices include the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); National Ocean Service (NOS); National Weather Service (NWS); Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO); and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). According to NOAA, the agency's mission is (1) to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts; (2) to share that knowledge and information with others; and (3) to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.⁴⁰ NOAA has stated that it provides "data, tools, and information to help people understand and prepare for climate variability and change."⁴¹

Statutory Authorities

Congress has explicitly directed the Secretary of Commerce, who has delegated to NOAA, or NOAA itself to carry out some actions related to climate change adaptation (see Table 3 for selected statutes). NOAA's activities under their statutory authorities generally fall into two categorizes: (1) collecting and sharing climate and climate change information and (2) supporting research on climate change, its effects, and potential adaptations to those effects.

Many of NOAA's climate change adaptation activities may be carried out under statutory authorities that are not specific to climate change adaptation, and shaped by the departmental and agency guidance described below. These activities occur across the agency, and again may be divided into two categories: (1) collecting and sharing climate and climate change information and (2) supporting research on climate change, its effects, and potential adaptations to those effects. Selected examples of activities under each line office include the following:

• NESDIS aims to "provide secure and timely access to global environmental data and information from satellites and other sources to promote and protect the Nation's security, environment, economy, and quality of life."⁴² The line office manages a constellation of Earth observing satellites in support of its statutory responsibilities to observe meteorological conditions, forecast weather, and understand climate processes, among other tasks.⁴³ According to the agency, "NOAA's satellite data improve the Nation's resilience to climate variability," among other benefits.⁴⁴
• NMFS is "responsible for the stewardship of the nation's ocean resources and their habitat."⁴⁵ Congress directs NOAA to manage and conserve fisheries and to recover protected marine species.⁴⁶ NMFS activities in support of responding and adapting to climate change have included developing a climate science strategy and new stock assessments and implementing ecosystem-based fisheries management.⁴⁷
• NOS "provides data, tools, and services that support coastal economies and their contribution to the national economy."⁴⁸ Several NOS authorities support the line office's climate change adaptation activities, such as research within the agency and technical and financial assistance to nonfederal entities.⁴⁹ For example, eligible states and territories have used assistance from the National Coastal Zone Management Program in support of projects such as the development of sea-level rise projections and guidance, and climate adaptation studies and policies.⁵⁰ NOS also serves as home to the agency's coastal scientists working on topics potentially affected by climate change, such as harmful algal blooms and hypoxia,⁵¹ ecosystem services,⁵² and national marine sanctuaries,⁵³ among other topics.
• NWS aims to provide weather, water, and climate data; forecasts; and warnings for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy.⁵⁴ NWS has compiled an extensive climate record for the United States through its long-term weather monitoring. The agency also maintains and shares several climate monitoring products.⁵⁵ Among other authorities, Congress has directed NWS to improve its longer-term weather forecasts (two weeks to two years), potentially closing the gap between short-term weather forecasts and long-term climate forecasts.⁵⁶ NWS also supports continuing development of local climate analysis tools to address drought, extreme weather, Arctic sea ice, and coastal sea-level concerns.⁵⁷
• OAR's mission is to "conduct research to understand and predict the Earth system; develop technology to improve NOAA science, service, and stewardship; and transition the results so they are useful to society."⁵⁸ Multiple OAR offices carry out climate change adaptation activities, such as providing technical and financial assistance, under other authorities. For example, Congress created the National Sea Grant College Program, currently under OAR,⁵⁹ which provides technical and financial assistance for climate change adaptation in local communities.⁶⁰ OAR also includes other programs that support research and monitoring related to climate change adaptation in various ways.⁶¹
• OMAO's mission is to "safely deliver effective Earth observation capabilities, integrate emerging technologies, and provide a specialized, flexible, and reliable team responsive to NOAA and the nation."⁶² The line office administers the NOAA fleet of ships and aircraft, and it "supports a wide range of marine activities including fisheries research, nautical charting, and ocean and climate studies."⁶³
• NOAA's Mission Support includes multiple offices, such as communications, education, and general counsel, some of which may support climate change adaptation activities. For example, Congress has directed NOAA to support formal and informal educational activities regarding ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmospheric science and stewardship.⁶⁴ Some of these activities have been implemented through NOAA's Office of Education programs, such as the Environmental Literacy Program, which has funded grants to disseminate climate change and climate change adaptation information to students and the general public, among other activities.⁶⁵
• Several cross-agency activities also support climate change adaptation. For example, Congress directed NOAA to support coral reef conservation,⁶⁶ including increasing coral reef "resilience to climate change."⁶⁷ Multiple line offices (NESDIS, NMFS, NOS, and OAR) contribute to the program by supporting mapping, monitoring, forecasting, and modeling and by providing technical and financial assistance to nonfederal entities.⁶⁸ Other cross-agency examples include the development and maintenance of online clearinghouses.⁶⁹ One such database is Climate.gov, "a source of timely and authoritative scientific data and information about climate" to "promote public understanding of climate science and climate-related events, ... to provide climate-related support to the private sector and the Nation's economy, and to serve people making climate-related decisions with tools and resources that help them answer specific questions," among other goals.⁷⁰ Another is the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, "designed to help people find and use tools, information, and subject matter expertise to build climate resilience."⁷¹ Finally, in 2020, Congress enacted legislation codifying NOAA's Digital Coast program, a website that provides datasets, tools, and training.⁷² Among other topics, the Digital Coast includes resources about coastal adaptation strategies.⁷³

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, NOAA proposed and deliberated an agency restructuring to create a new line office, known as the Climate Service, from existing and expanded programs.⁷⁴ The proposal was in response to recommendations from a congressionally mandated National Academy of Public Administration study, among other findings.⁷⁵ The proposed mission of the Climate Service line office was to

improve understanding and prediction of changes in climate and inform a climate-resilient society by:

Monitoring climate trends, conducting research, and developing models to strengthen our knowledge of the changing climate and its impacts on our physical, economic, and societal systems;

Providing authoritative and timely information products and services about climate change, climate variability, and impacts; and

Informing decision-making and management at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels.⁷⁶

The proposal was controversial for several years. Some stakeholders argued the Climate Service would duplicate "the historic and current mission, programs, and services of the National Weather Service."⁷⁷ Others proposed that a national climate service take the form of a federal interagency partnership or other format.⁷⁸ Congress did not approve the creation of the service at NOAA for FY2012.⁷⁹ In recent years, some stakeholders have voiced renewed support for a NOAA-led or other federal agency climate service.⁸⁰

In addition to authorizing activities, in recent years, Congress has directed NOAA to support or implement climate change adaptation activities through explanatory language accompanying appropriations legislation. For example, under S.Rept. 116-127, a report referred to in the explanatory statement accompanying the FY2020 appropriations bill (P.L. 116-93), Congress directed NOAA to consider proposals to the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund that, among other priorities, would "bolster coastal infrastructure and resilience" and would support research projects that "enhance the coastal resilience of remote communities at most risk to natural disasters and chronic events."⁸¹ Congress instructed NOAA to further focus on coastal resilience in other parts of the explanatory statement, as well.

Executive Branch Guidance

A range of executive branch documents, including executive orders, DOC organization orders, DOC strategic plans and priorities, NOAA administrative orders, and NOAA strategic plans, guide NOAA's climate change adaptation activities, in addition to the agency's statutory authorities.

Executive Orders

The Secretary of Commerce has delegated several climate change adaptation-related provisions within executive orders to NOAA officials and programs.⁸² In addition, some executive orders directly reference NOAA. For instance, E.O. 13653 created the Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience and identified NOAA, among other agencies, to "complete an inventory and assessment of proposed and completed changes to their land- and water-related policies, programs, and regulations necessary to make the Nation's watersheds, natural resources, and ecosystems, and the communities and economies that depend on them, more resilient in the face of a changing climate."⁸³ In March 2017, E.O. 13783 revoked E.O. 13653. In January 2021, E.O. 13990 revoked E.O. 13783, effectively reinstating E.O. 13653.⁸⁴

E.O. 13677, "Climate-Resilient International Development," directed multiple agencies, including NOAA, to carry out several climate change adaptation activities.⁸⁵ The executive order directed agencies (1) to work together to "identify and develop, as appropriate, data, decision-support tools and information to allow the screening for and incorporation of considerations of climate-change risks and vulnerabilities" in agency documents and funding decisions; (2) to coordinate efforts to "deliver information on climate-change impacts and make data, tools, and information available to decisionmakers in other countries"; and (3) to participate in the Working Group on Climate-Resilient International Development of the Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. The Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience was discontinued when E.O. 13783 revoked E.O. 13653 in March 2017. In January 2021, E.O. 13990 revoked E.O. 13783, effectively reinstating the council. It is unclear if the council and working group will be reconstituted in the same forms as in the past. Other parts of E.O. 13677 remain in force.

In January 2021, E.O. 14008 directed the NOAA Administrator, among and in coordination with other agency heads, to report to the newly formed National Climate Task Force on "ways to expand and improve climate forecast capabilities and information products for the public" to assist nonfederal entities in preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change.⁸⁶ Another section of the executive order required the NOAA Administrator to collect input from fisheries stakeholders on "how to make fisheries and protected resources more resilient to climate change."

DOC Organization Orders

In addition to DOC departmental administrative orders, described above, DOC issues departmental organization orders (DOOs) on the structure and functions of DOC. Two DOOs provide information on NOAA's climate change adaptation-related responsibilities. DOO 10-15, which "prescribes the scope of authority and functions of the position of Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator" of NOAA,⁸⁷ lists the Under Secretary's responsibilities as assigned by law, including the functions related to an "assessment of global climate change on water resources."⁸⁸

DOO 25-5 "prescribes the organization, management structure, and assignment of functions" within NOAA.⁸⁹ Among other responsibilities, DOO 25-5 directs

• the Climate Program Office to "represent NOAA in interactions with the international scientific community in the implementation of climate variability and change research."⁹⁰
• the National Climatic Data Center, now a part of the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), to "collect, document, and make accessible key terrestrial and oceanic paleoclimatic variables required to understand natural climate variability and change" and to "transform sensor data records into climate data records and climate information records for analysis of climate changes and variations."⁹¹
• the National Oceanographic Data Center, also now a part of NCEI, to "maintain global and national data bases for analysis of long-term ocean climate trends for monitoring global change."⁹²

The order does not use the term adaptation or other related terms, though the functions described in the DOO may support adaptation activities. DOO 25-5 notes that other line offices and programs are required to support climate-related activities (i.e., to provide research and operational climate products and services), as well.

DOC Strategic Plan and Priority Goals

As noted in the section entitled "DOC Departmental Guidance," the 2018-2022 DOC strategic plan does not include goals and objectives specific to climate change adaptation, although some activities may be related to climate change and climate change adaptation.⁹³ For example, one of the plan's objectives is for NOAA to help "reduce extreme weather impacts." The plan does not use the terms climate change, adaptation, or similar terms.⁹⁴ Previous strategic plans have incorporated explicit climate change adaptation goals and objectives for NOAA.⁹⁵

Congress has also directed federal agencies to develop priority goals to improve the performance and management of the federal government.⁹⁶ NOAA did not use the terms climate change, adaptation, or similar terms in its 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 agency priority goal to "mitigate flood impacts by demonstrating decision support services to emergency managers," goal action plans, and progress updates.⁹⁷

NOAA Administrative Orders

NOAA administrative orders (NAOs) provide guidance on program matters and administrative policies and procedures;⁹⁸ several NAOs are related to climate change and climate change adaptation. For example, NAO 216-17, "NOAA National Habitat Policy," states that "NOAA has a responsibility ... to ensure the Nation has a strong foundation and network of healthy habitats that are important for achieving NOAA's outcomes to increase resilient coastal communities, in which life and property are protected from the impacts of hazards and a changing climate," among other outcomes.⁹⁹ Further, NAO 216-17 directs NOAA to seek to protect, maintain, and restore ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems based on their habitat-related missions and mandates by applying "natural and nature-based infrastructure ... to adapt to long-term climate change," among other activities.¹⁰⁰

NOAA Strategic Plan

NOAA's most recent strategic plan was released in December 2010.¹⁰¹ According to the agency, NOAA currently operates under the DOC strategic plan rather than the 2010 NOAA strategic plan, although "NOAA may refer to [NOAA's strategic plan] for some uses."¹⁰² As noted in the section entitled "DOC Departmental Guidance," the 2018-2022 DOC strategic plan does not address climate change or adaptation.

The 2010 NOAA strategic plan detailed four long-term goals. One goal, "climate adaptation and mitigation," included the following objectives:

• "improved scientific understanding of the changing climate system and its impacts";
• "assessments of current and future states of the climate system that identify potential impacts and inform science, service, and stewardship decisions";
• "mitigation and adaptation choices supported by sustained, reliable, and timely climate services"; and
• "a climate-literate public that understands its vulnerabilities to a changing climate and makes informed decisions."¹⁰³

Although the 2010 strategic plan goals were considered in the long term and based on potential alternative scenarios for 2035, the objectives were considered the basis for NOAA's planning, management, and engagement over five years (2010-2014).¹⁰⁴ Climate change and climate change adaptation also are noted in the plan's other goals, such as "healthy oceans" and "resilient coastal communities and economies."¹⁰⁵

Economic Development Administration¹⁰⁶

EDA's mission is to "lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy."¹⁰⁷

Statutory Authorities

Congress has explicitly directed EDA to support climate change adaptation activities in a few instances. Under statute, some EDA grant programs require applicants to demonstrate that prospective projects align with the region's Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) or equivalent strategy.¹⁰⁸ EDA periodically updates guidance for the development of the CEDS, which are community-developed, long-term regional planning documents. In 2014, the CCAS identified EDA as the lead agency to "factor resiliency (including resiliency to the effects of climate change) into economic development investments."¹⁰⁹ The agency was directed to do so by updating the Content Guidelines for the CEDS and by factoring resiliency into its grant-making investment decisions.¹¹⁰ EDA updated the CEDS Content Guidelines, which now include climate change as a consideration in regional economic development planning (e.g., as part of the agency's definition of economic resilience and when accounting for potential natural hazards).¹¹¹

In the explanatory statement accompanying the FY2020 appropriations bill (P.L. 116-93), Congress directed EDA to "encourage applicants to submit proposals [to the Public Works program] that are resilient to climate change or incorporate green infrastructure solutions."¹¹² Congress again encouraged EDA to "prioritize" these projects in the explanatory statement accompanying the FY2021 appropriations bill (P.L. 116-260).¹¹³

EDA also has supported climate change adaptation through activities authorized by supplemental appropriations bills for disaster-recovery purposes. For instance, in 2019, Congress enacted the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-20), which provided EDA with funds for "necessary expenses related to flood mitigation, disaster relief, long-term recovery, and restoration of infrastructure" in areas impacted by selected disasters.¹¹⁴ In August 2019, EDA released a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) designed to support post-disaster, long-term economic recovery strategies with the supplemental appropriations. The FY2019 disaster recovery NOFO noted that to be competitive, eligible applicants should "clearly incorporate principles for enhancing the resilience... of the relevant community/region or demonstrate the integration of resilience principles into the investment project itself."¹¹⁵ In the NOFO, EDA defined resilience as "the ability of a community or region to anticipate, withstand, and bounce back from various disruptions to its economic base."¹¹⁶ According to EDA, economic disruptions, or shocks, manifest in various ways and include "impacts of climate change."¹¹⁷

Executive Branch Guidance

Executive orders and DOC orders currently in force do not explicitly provide guidance to EDA regarding climate change adaptation.¹¹⁸ In addition, the 2018-2022 DOC strategic plan does not include EDA-specific goals and objectives related to climate change adaptation.¹¹⁹ Previous strategic plans, however, included climate change adaptation-specific goals and objectives for EDA.¹²⁰

EDA does not have a strategic plan separate from the agency's statement of investment priorities. EDA refers to its five investment priorities as the framework for guiding its competitive grant awards.¹²¹ One of the agency's investment priority areas is recovery and resilience, which includes "projects that assist with economic resilience (including business continuity and preparedness) and long-term recovery from natural disasters and economic shocks to ensure U.S. communities are globally competitive." As noted above, EDA defines resilience in the context of economic development.

International Trade Administration¹²²

ITA's mission is to "create prosperity by strengthening the international competitiveness of U.S. industry, promoting trade and investment, and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements."¹²³ ITA provides export promotion services to U.S. companies, works to enforce and ensure compliance with trade laws and agreements, administers trade remedies for unfair trade practices, and provides analytical support for ongoing trade negotiations. Supported by U.S. and foreign commercial service officers and industry analysts, ITA provides market research, business connections, and other services to promote U.S. exports and attract foreign investment. ITA serves as the primary liaison between U.S. industries and the federal government on trade and investment promotion and provides analytical support for ongoing trade negotiations. In its role promoting United States exports, ITA supports the Trade Promotion Coordination Committee (TPCC), an interagency group chaired by the Secretary of Commerce.

Statutory Authorities

Within ITA's broader mission to promote U.S. exports is statutory language specific to U.S. exports of "environmental technologies." In the Export Enhancement Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-429), Congress established the interagency TPCC to coordinate and set priorities for federal agencies involved in export promotion.¹²⁴ Within the TPCC, Congress directed the President to establish the Environmental Trade Promotion Working Group as a subcommittee to "address issues with respect to the export promotion and export financing of [U.S.] environmental technologies, goods, and services."¹²⁵ The Secretary of Commerce serves as chair of the TPCC and appoints a senior DOC official to chair the environmental trade working group.¹²⁶ ITA supports the TPCC's work within DOC. In 1994, Congress amended the Export Enhancement Act and directed the Secretary of Commerce to establish an advisory committee, the Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee, composed of private sector environmental businesses, trade groups, and other relevant parties, to advise and guide the working group.¹²⁷

The 2014 CCAS directed ITA to "help businesses capitalize on an increased demand for green technologies sparked by a changing climate" by working with the Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee, among other groups, to

(1) accelerate interagency efforts to expand and improve the types of services and programs supporting these industries, (2) enhance market access overseas and intellectual property rights enforcement, (3) strengthen and tailor trade promotion efforts in these sectors, and (4) develop export markets for U.S. companies by helping trade partners establish policies and regulations that create optimal conditions for deployment of these technologies.¹²⁸

The Export Enhancement Act of 1992, as amended, established the working group but did not define environmental technologies. According to ITA, environmental technologies comprise four major categories:

• 1. "Monitoring and assessment: technologies used to establish and monitor the condition of the environment"
• 2. "Pollution avoidance: equipment and processes used to prevent or minimize the generation of pollutants"
• 3. "Pollution control: technologies that render hazardous substances harmless before they enter the environment"
• 4. "Remediation and restoration: technologies used to render hazardous substances harmless"¹²⁹

Recent ITA reports on the industry seem to suggest climate change adaptation tools or services may be within the scope of environmental technologies.¹³⁰

Congress directed the working group to "annually assess which foreign countries have markets with the greatest potential for the export of [U.S.] environmental technologies, goods, and services."¹³¹ The ITA's 2019 Top Markets Report on Environmental Technologies notes climate change and climate change adaptation several times, including in a "Climate Adaptation" section, which states that "climate concerns are leading to a paradigm shift in the configuration of water infrastructure and in how water is managed."¹³²

Congress further directed the Secretary of Commerce to assign specialists to provide "export promotion assistance to [U.S.] environmental businesses."¹³³ ITA specialists, including environmental technologies specialists, use their "global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide."¹³⁴ For example, in ITA's most recent "Mexico Country Commercial Guide," specialists state that "the environmental technologies and water markets in Mexico are poised for growth over the next few years because of Mexico's commitment to addressing climate change," among other factors.¹³⁵

Executive Branch Guidance

The executive branch's current guidance (i.e., executive orders or the 2018-2022 DOC strategic plan) does not explicitly address ITA's responsibilities related to climate change adaptation.¹³⁶ Previous strategic plans, however, incorporated climate change adaptation-specific goals and objectives for ITA.¹³⁷

National Institute of Standards and Technology¹³⁸

NIST's mission is to "promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life."¹³⁹ NIST accomplishes its mission through laboratory programs and support of extramural programs.

Statutory Authorities

NIST carries out the majority of its climate change adaptation activities under authorities not directly related to climate change adaptation. NIST identified several statutory authorities and activities in support of the 2014 CCAS priority adaptation actions.¹⁴⁰ The 2014 CCAS identified NIST as the lead agency to "develop performance-based standards and tools for new and retrofit building designs resistant to extremes of wind, storm surge, and fire that prevent or mitigate collapse."¹⁴¹ For example,

• Congress authorized NIST to deploy teams "after events causing the failure of a building or buildings that has resulted in substantial loss of life or that posed significant potential for substantial loss of life."¹⁴² After Hurricane Maria in 2017, NIST established a National Construction Safety Team to study the hurricane's effects on Puerto Rico.¹⁴³
• Congress established a Fire Research Center at DOC to perform and support research on "all aspects of fire with the aim of providing scientific and technical knowledge applicable to the prevention and control of fires."¹⁴⁴ The Secretary of Commerce delegated these activities to NIST, and the agency is conducting wildland-urban interface fire research, including technical studies of specific fires, to reduce the impact of wildfires on U.S. communities.¹⁴⁵
• Congress directed NIST to coordinate the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program.¹⁴⁶ In 2018, the program released a strategic plan for windstorm loss reduction, which noted that some causes of windstorm losses "relate to climate system variability and change," among other factors.¹⁴⁷

In addition, NIST has "been advancing science and developing tools for stakeholders" and has established a Community Resilience Center of Excellence.¹⁴⁸ According to NIST, the center has developed a "tool to support quantitative modeling of options to make communities more resilient" and continues to study the recovery of Lumberton, NC, after flooding resulting from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.¹⁴⁹

In March 2019, GAO recommended that DOC, through NIST, "convene federal agencies to provide the best available forward-looking climate information to standards developing organizations" for their consideration in the development of design standards, building codes, and voluntary certifications.¹⁵⁰ More recently, H.Rept. 116-455, accompanying the FY2021 appropriations bill, directed NIST, in collaboration with other federal agencies and nonfederal entities, to

identify a consistent and authoritative set of climate information that emphasizes forward-looking climate data and projection that should be utilized in the standard-setting process. This effort shall serve to aid both Federal and non-Federal bodies to develop standards, building codes, and voluntary standards that take into account increasingly extreme weather events and other climate change challenges.¹⁵¹

According to NIST, the FY2021 directive is "inconsistent with NIST's non-regulatory, non-oversight role in the voluntary consensus standards development process."¹⁵² However, at the request of some Members of Congress, in January 2021, NIST convened federal and nonfederal stakeholders for a one day workshop to discuss forward-looking climate information for potential use by the standards community.¹⁵³ NIST plans to continue, with NOAA, "to collaborate with other appropriate federal agencies and interested nonfederal parties through the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group."¹⁵⁴

Executive Branch Guidance

The executive branch has not explicitly directed NIST to carry out climate change adaptation through current executive or DOC orders. In addition, the 2018-2022 DOC strategic plan does not include goals and objectives for NIST related to climate change adaptation.¹⁵⁵ Previous strategic plans, however, incorporated climate change adaptation specific goals and objectives for NIST.¹⁵⁶

The agency's most recent programmatic plan highlighted NIST's work in community resilience from 2017 to 2019 and described the agency's Community Resilience Center of Excellence and Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems.¹⁵⁷ The guide was developed as a "component of the President's Climate Action Plan" and "offers a process for communities to incorporate short- and long-term measures to enhance resilience," including adapting to sea-level rise and "anticipated long-term changes in hazards due to climate change."¹⁵⁸ According to NIST, the agency has worked with several communities to implement the guidance.¹⁵⁹

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office¹⁶⁰

The U.S. Constitution provides Congress the power "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to ... Inventors the exclusive Right to their ... Discoveries."¹⁶¹ The USPTO is the federal agency that fulfills this mandate. Specifically, in accordance with the Patent Act of 1952 (P.L. 82-593),¹⁶² an inventor may seek the grant of a patent by preparing and submitting an application to USPTO. USPTO officials known as examiners then determine whether the invention disclosed in the application merits the award of a patent.¹⁶³ According to USPTO, its mission is "to foster innovation, competitiveness and economic growth, domestically and abroad, by providing high quality and timely examination of patent and trademark applications, guiding domestic and international intellectual property (IP) policy, and delivering IP information and education worldwide."¹⁶⁴

Congress authorized USPTO to establish regulations that govern the patent application process, including regulations that "facilitate and expedite the processing of patent applications."¹⁶⁵ The agency may fast-track patent review under its Patent Prosecution Highway and "Track One" prioritized examination programs.¹⁶⁶ The 2014 CCAS identified USPTO as the lead agency to "improve the ability to process patent application filings for climate change adaptation-related technologies in a timely manner."¹⁶⁷ As of the date of this report, the Patent Prosecution Highway and "Track One" programs exist and can be used to fast-track patent review, however no special consideration is given to climate change adaptation-related technologies. Additionally, the executive branch has not explicitly directed USPTO to carry out climate change adaptation activities through existing executive or DOC orders, or the DOC and UPSTO strategic plans or other guidance.

Other DOC Agencies

DOC includes additional agencies that were not directed to complete specific actions in the 2014 CCAS, such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis,¹⁶⁸ Bureau of Industry and Security,¹⁶⁹ Census Bureau,¹⁷⁰ Minority Business Development Agency,¹⁷¹ National Technical Information Service,¹⁷² and National Telecommunications and Information Administration.¹⁷³ According to the agency guidance documents CRS reviewed, Congress and the executive branch have not explicitly directed these agencies to carry out climate change adaptation activities.¹⁷⁴ The 2018-2022 DOC strategic plan does not include agency-specific goals and objectives related to climate change adaptation for these agencies.¹⁷⁵ Previous strategic plans, however, incorporated climate change adaptation specific goals and objectives for some of these agencies (e.g., Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau).¹⁷⁶

DOC Climate Change Adaptation Spending

Few assessments of federal agency spending on climate change, including climate change adaptation activities, exist. For example, in 2018, GAO attempted to estimate total federal agency spending on climate change activities between FY2010 and FY2017 using Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports to Congress.¹⁷⁷ GAO did not consider OMB's reports to be comprehensive, noting that "several agency budget justifications [GAO] reviewed provided information on climate change activities under multi-purpose programs that were not identifiable within OMB's funding reports."¹⁷⁸ An agency-by-agency comprehensive reporting of potential climate change adaptation spending is beyond the scope of this report, and CRS did not identify other reports on climate change adaptation spending at DOC.¹⁷⁹

DOC agencies carry out a range of climate change adaptation activities, including providing financial assistance to nonfederal entities for adaptation related activities. A comprehensive review of previously and currently available DOC funding opportunities is outside the scope of this report. However, a search of Beta.sam.gov, which includes a government-wide catalog of federal programs, projects, services and activities, for active and inactive assistance listings from DOC that included the term climate change since 2010 resulted in 9 results, all administered by NOAA.¹⁸⁰ CRS completed a similar search on Grants.gov, a centralized location for grant seekers to find and apply for federal funding opportunities. A search for the term climate change among DOC posts resulted in 269 opportunities since 2010, mostly administered by NOAA, with a smaller portion of opportunities administered by EDA or NIST.¹⁸¹ Additional assistance listings and opportunities related to the terms climate, adaptation, resilience, or similar terms, without the term climate change, are not included in these results.

Issues for Congress

Climate change likely will continue to affect aspects of DOC agencies' mission areas and programs. Executive orders issued in January 2021 by the Biden Administration contain new directives and reinstate former executive order mandates specific to DOC and NOAA, as well as mandates common to other departments and agencies. In addition to considering whether to codify or modify directives contained in these executive order, Congress may deliberate whether to assess existing DOC climate change adaptation authorities, guidance, activities, and spending. Members also may weigh whether to define climate change adaptation or related terms in statute; require agency climate change adaptation strategies to supplement those mandated in executive order provisions; and direct priorities for production, collection, and sharing types of adaptation information. In addition, Congress may consider whether to alter financial assistance authorities in support of adaptation. Congress also may deliberate DOC or agency appropriation levels relative to benefits and priorities, as well as authorities related to adaptation policy.

Existing Climate Change Adaptation Authorities, Guidance, Activities, and Spending

As discussed, Congress and various Administrations have explicitly directed and provided guidance to DOC and its agencies regarding aspects of climate change adaptation. Agencies also may carry out climate change adaptation activities under broader authorities or may perform such activities without explicitly describing the efforts as climate change adaptation.

Few evaluations of authorities, guidance, activities, and spending related to federal climate change adaptation exist. For instance, as previously described, a 2018 GAO report found limitations to compiled information on climate change spending. Congress may consider tasking a federal or nonfederal entity with examining current and forthcoming DOC and DOC-agency climate change adaptation authorities, guidance, activities, and related spending. Congress may be interested in determining what authorities and activities exist, how activities are prioritized, and how funds have been appropriated and spent.

Defining Climate Change Adaptation or Related Terms

Should Congress mandate an evaluation, it may choose to define climate change adaptation or related terms, allow the entity leading the evaluation to do so, or permit DOC and its agencies to use their own definitions. A legislative definition may help to clarify Congress's intent about the character of adaptation. Such a definition also may help to standardize DOC's responses and—if applied across departments and agencies—to facilitate comparisons. Depending on the wording of such a definition, however, the use of only one definition may not encompass new, potentially relevant activities and otherwise may constrain agency flexibility.

Members of Congress introduced legislation in the 116^th Congress regarding climate change adaptation in regards to DOC and DOC agency activities, but did not define the term. Similarly, several bills contained the term resilience in regard to DOC and DOC agency activities, without defining the term or mentioning the climate change as part of the definition.¹⁸²

Developing a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

Exclusive of an assessment of existing climate change adaptation authorities and activities, Congress may consider legislation that would codify or modify directives provided by presidential orders and other actions. As discussed, a January 2021 Biden Administration executive order requires new agency plans to "bolster adaptation and increase resilience" of agency facilities and operations to climate change impacts.¹⁸³ Directives in these executive orders also reinstate provisions requiring DOC to develop and implement plans to integrate climate change into agency operations and overall mission objectives.¹⁸⁴ These provisions may overlap in their goals, and it is unclear how the agencies may interpret them. Different Administrations, and the associated changes to executive office guidance, have demonstrated a lack of durability for these types of requirements. Alternatively, some may argue that without legislative direction, Administrations are free to exercise flexibility in their requirements.

In the 116^th Congress, Members of Congress introduced several bills that would have tasked the Secretary of Commerce or NOAA Administrator, among others, to develop and implement climate change adaptation strategies or strategies with climate change adaptation components.¹⁸⁵ If similar legislation is proposed in the future, some Members may contend, as they have in the past,¹⁸⁶ that development of new adaptation strategies is duplicative or may argue that the effort is too time-consuming and costly, especially for agencies with small roles in climate change adaptation.

Congress also may consider whether to require DOC and its agencies to develop strategies to provide financial assistance in support of climate change adaptation through existing statutory authorities. Some stakeholders may argue that states and local governments should maintain the ability to prioritize how best to use federal financial assistance. For example, proposed legislation in the 116^th Congress would have created a new grant program at NOAA for certain climate change adaptation activities.¹⁸⁷ Some Members stated that the proposed bill "stray[ed] from the long-standing Congressional intent of providing eligible coastal States and territories the flexibility to design programs that best address local challenges by inserting federal priorities into a State-run program."¹⁸⁸

Sharing Climate Change Adaptation Information

Multiple federal departments and agencies currently share climate change and climate change adaptation information with a variety of federal and nonfederal stakeholders, as required under broad and climate-specific statutory authorities. In addition to these authorities, the Biden Administration's reinstatement of E.O. 13653 requires DOC and some of its agencies to share climate information in certain ways.¹⁸⁹ GAO recommended designating a federal entity to lead the development of authoritative climate observations and projections for use in federal and nonfederal decisionmaking and creating a national climate information system with defined roles for federal agencies and nonfederal entities with existing statutory authority.¹⁹⁰ GAO did not specify which federal entity should take on the proposed role, but considered NOAA in its report.¹⁹¹

Congress may consider addressing the types of information DOC and its agencies share and determining the most appropriate way to do so. Among other options, Members may deliberate whether to codify data-sharing requirements under E.O. 13653. In the 116^th Congress, some Members of Congress introduced legislation to authorize NOAA to establish a Climate Change Education Program tasked with emphasizing actionable information to promote climate adaptation, among other topics.¹⁹² Another bill would have required NOAA to identify and support research that enables a "consistent, federal set of forward-looking long-term meteorological information" and for NIST to make such information available for use by the public and by the building codes and standards community, among other activities.¹⁹³ Additional considerations could include whether and how DOC agencies should coordinate their information-sharing efforts with other federal and nonfederal entities. Some stakeholders may argue that additional direction could improve the process by which decisionmakers find and use climate change adaptation information.¹⁹⁴ Others may contend, as they have in the past during discussions about a proposed NOAA Climate Service, that several federal agencies have authorities to provide information to federal and nonfederal entities through existing statutes and agency missions.¹⁹⁵

Financial Assistance Authorities to Support Climate Change Adaptation

Some DOC agencies provide financial assistance to nonfederal entities for climate change adaptation activities under broad and climate-specific statutory authorities. Congress may consider whether to direct DOC and its agencies to change existing financial assistance program criteria to direct funding toward certain types of climate change adaptation activities. In the 116^th Congress, through explanatory statements accompanying appropriations bills, Congress directed NOAA and EDA to add climate change adaptation activities to the list of eligible activities within several existing financial assistance mechanisms.¹⁹⁶ Some Members of Congress proposed other changes to boost climate change adaptation activities through existing financial assistance programs administered by NOAA, as well.¹⁹⁷

Congress also could consider the costs and benefits of providing DOC agencies with the authority to create new financial assistance programs. In the 116^th Congress, several Members of Congress introduced bills that would have authorized the Secretary of Commerce to create new financial assistance programs at NOAA for nonfederal climate change adaptation research or project implementation, among other topics.¹⁹⁸ Some Members of Congress argued that Congress already had provided the agency with the authority to support some of the proposed activities, stating that the programs were "duplicative" or "fiscally irresponsible."¹⁹⁹ In 2019, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere noted that NOAA administered grant programs that met the goals of the proposed bills and added that a proposed loan fund program would be outside the agency's core mission area and would be "challenging."²⁰⁰ In another hearing, a Member of Congress stated that the proposed bill under discussion would authorize "billions in new grants and programs to distract from the economically devastating policies being pushed."²⁰¹

Additional Considerations

Congress also may consider other actions related to climate change adaptation activities at DOC and its agencies. For example, Congress could consider changes to appropriations amounts devoted to implementing existing climate change adaptation activities, as advocated by some stakeholders.²⁰² Congress also may deliberate whether to change DOC or agency policies regarding climate change adaptation unrelated to financial assistance. For instance, as some Members proposed in the 116^th Congress, Congress might review federally managed species requirements in relation to the potential impacts of climate change and subsequent management options.²⁰³ Whether to continue to include climate change adaptation policy directives in appropriations bills or accompanying explanatory statements and committee reports also may be a part of legislative discussions. Whether and for how long an agency may implement these types of provisions may depend on if the provision is in law versus in an accompanying congressional report. Provisions may be further affected by their inclusion in an appropriations bill, as the appropriations bill is presumed temporary unless it explicitly indicates futurity or is of "general character bearing no relation to the object of the appropriation."²⁰⁴