Report on the Climate Action Campaign’s Extreme Weather Emergency Tour in Easton

Executive Summary

Local leaders, academic experts, and community stakeholders convened in Easton, Pennsylvania, to address the escalating threats posed by climate change, with a specific focus on extreme weather and flooding. The event, part of the Climate Action Campaign’s Extreme Weather Emergency Tour, highlighted the critical need for enhanced infrastructure, robust preparedness strategies, and multi-level government action. The discussions underscored the urgency of advancing several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).

Climate Change Impacts and the Imperative for SDG 13: Climate Action

Experts at the event established a direct link between climate change and the increased frequency of severe weather events in the Northeast, emphasizing the need for immediate and decisive measures in line with SDG 13.

Expert Testimony on Climate Volatility

• Christa Kelleher, a hydrologist from Lafayette College, stated that a warming climate is conclusively exacerbating extreme events such as flooding, droughts, and hurricanes in the region.
• State Rep. Bob Freeman reinforced this view, asserting that climate change is undeniably real and is making weather events more frequent and severe.

Vulnerabilities and Resource Gaps

A significant concern raised was the erosion of essential resources needed to combat climate impacts. Speakers warned that federal rollbacks in environmental protections and budget cuts, such as those affecting the National Weather Service, are undermining community safety and hampering progress toward climate resilience.

Fostering Sustainable Cities and Resilient Infrastructure (SDG 11 & SDG 9)

The core of the discussion revolved around adapting urban environments to withstand climate shocks, a central tenet of SDG 11, and the necessity of innovative and resilient infrastructure as outlined in SDG 9.

Calls for Infrastructure Modernization

Speakers advocated for significant investment in infrastructure to create resilient communities capable of managing climate-related disasters.

1. Mitigating Stormwater Damage: Rep. Freeman stressed that upgrading infrastructure is a life-saving and cost-effective measure to mitigate damage from events like severe flooding.
2. Local Preparedness: Rachel Hogan Carr of the Nurture Nature Center emphasized that resilience requires not only improved forecasting technology but also effective communication systems to ensure critical information reaches all community members, directly supporting SDG 11.5, which aims to reduce the impact of disasters.

Case Study in Local Adaptation: Bushkill Park

The management of Bushkill Park serves as a practical example of implementing SDG 9’s goal of building resilient infrastructure. Former and current operators described their proactive strategies:

• Developing pre-flood and post-flood operational plans.
• Implementing innovative adaptations, such as installing removable motors on equipment.
• Continuously monitoring water levels to enable rapid response and reopening.

Recommendations for Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration and Public Advocacy (SDG 17)

The event concluded with a strong call to action, urging a collaborative approach that aligns with SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) to drive meaningful change.

Key Recommendations

Speakers urged the public and all relevant stakeholders to:

1. Advocate for Policy Change: Engage directly with congressional representatives to demand the restoration of federal funding for environmental protection and emergency preparedness.
2. Promote Local Action: Support and participate in the implementation of local initiatives, such as Easton’s Climate Action Plan.
3. Foster Partnerships: Strengthen collaboration between government, academia, community organizations, and the private sector to build a unified front against the impacts of climate change.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 13: Climate Action

   This is the most prominent SDG in the article. The entire piece revolves around the impacts of climate change, such as “extreme weather,” “flooding,” and “intense rainfall events.” The article explicitly states, “There’s no denying that climate change is real and that it is making extreme weather events more frequent and more severe.” It also highlights efforts to combat these effects through awareness campaigns and local action plans.

2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   The article focuses on the vulnerability of a specific urban area, the city of Easton, to climate-related disasters. It emphasizes the need for cities to “be equipped with infrastructure to handle” climate change and to implement local strategies like “Easton’s Climate Action Plan.” The goal is to make communities safer and more resilient to events like flooding.

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

   A central theme is the critical need for resilient infrastructure. The article quotes a speaker saying, “Upgrading our infrastructure to be more resilient can mitigate stormwater damage, saving lives and money.” This directly connects to the goal of developing sustainable and resilient infrastructure that can withstand climate-related shocks.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. The article is a clear call to action for this target, discussing the need for “expanded preparedness efforts at the local level” and sharing examples of adaptation, such as Bushkill Park’s strategy “to deal with when there’s a flood coming.”
  • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. The “Climate Action Campaign’s Extreme Weather Emergency Tour” is a direct example of an awareness-raising initiative. The call for the public to “learn about local climate action plans” also aligns with this target.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  • Target 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses… caused by disasters, including water-related disasters. The article highlights this by mentioning that resilient infrastructure can be “saving lives and money” and by focusing on the frequent flooding in communities like Easton.
  • Target 11.b: By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards… adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters… The mention of “Easton’s Climate Action Plan” is a direct reference to a local plan aimed at building resilience to climate change, which is the core of this target.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

  • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… to support economic development and human well-being. The article repeatedly calls for infrastructure improvements, stating that cities “must be equipped with infrastructure to handle” climate change and that “upgrading our infrastructure to be more resilient” is essential.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article implies several indicators that can be used to measure progress, even if it does not provide specific quantitative data.

• Existence of local disaster risk reduction strategies: The mention of “Easton’s Climate Action Plan” and Bushkill Park’s “strategy to deal with… a flood” serves as an indicator for Targets 11.b and 13.1. Progress can be measured by the number of communities with such plans.
• Availability of early warning systems and expert capacity: The article laments the lack of “more data, more experts, more warning systems.” The number and effectiveness of these systems and the number of available experts (like hydrologists) are implied indicators of a community’s adaptive capacity (Target 13.1).
• Investment in and quality of resilient infrastructure: The call to “upgrade our infrastructure” implies that the percentage of infrastructure built or retrofitted to be climate-resilient is a key indicator for Target 9.1.
• Public awareness and engagement: The “Extreme Weather Emergency Tour” and the call for citizens to write letters to representatives are indicators of progress on Target 13.3. The level of public participation in such campaigns could be measured.
• Frequency and impact of extreme weather events: The observation that “intense rainfall events [are] more common” and cause frequent flooding suggests that tracking the frequency of these events and the associated economic and human losses is an indicator for Target 11.5.
• Government funding and staffing for climate services: The article points to “restored federal funding” as a need and “significant staffing cuts at the National Weather Service” as a problem. Therefore, budget allocations and staffing levels for environmental and weather services are crucial indicators.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: lehighvalleylive.com