Statement of U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on President Obama's Executive Order on Climate Preparedness

Statement

"President Obama has made protecting our environment a top priority, and today's Executive Order is just the latest example of the administration's commitment to strengthen our resilience to the impacts of climate change. At the Department of Transportation (DOT), we share in this commitment and are working to ensure that our nation's infrastructure is built and repaired to withstand extreme weather and other effects of climate change.

"To better understand potential climate change impacts on transportation infrastructure and identify resiliency strategies, DOT is conducting a comprehensive, multi-phase study in the Central Gulf Coast region. This year the Federal Highway Administration is working with states, regional partners and other federal agencies to explore ways to assess the vulnerability of local transportation infrastructure to climate change and extreme weather. And in the year since Hurricane Sandy, DOT has been coordinating closely with its state and federal partners to restore transportation systems in affected states, while working to ensure that the new infrastructure is built to withstand future storms, including $1.3 billion to increase transit systems resiliency. These investments will strengthen the climate resilience of America's highways, roads, bridges and transit systems. We look forward to working with other agencies on the Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience as we introduce new infrastructure resiliency efforts in the future."

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