Obama Administration Officials to Convene Public Meeting of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force in Honolulu, July 9, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                                   

July 7, 2010                                                                                                               

Obama Administration Officials to Convene Public Meeting of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force in Honolulu, July 9, 2010

Honolulu, HI – Obama Administration officials will hold a public meeting of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force in Honolulu, Hawaii on July 9, 2010.  The meeting provides an opportunity for senior members of the Obama Administration to hear local and regional ideas, questions and concerns about climate change impacts in Hawaii and the Pacific and to describe federal planning efforts already underway.    

In 2009, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) initiated the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, which includes representatives from more than 20 Federal Agencies. When President Obama signed the Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, on October 5, 2009, he called on the Task Force to develop, within one year, Federal recommendations to reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts both domestically and internationally. An interim progress report was released in March 2010 and can be viewed online at http://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/adaptation.

WHO:           Dr. Larry Robinson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy Administrator of NOAA

                     Robyn Thorson, Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Region

                     Deanna Spooner, Coordinator, Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative

WHAT:         Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force Public Meeting and Press Conference

WHEN:        Friday, July 9, 1:00 – 4:30 p.m. public meeting.  A press conference will be held at 12:15 p.m.

WHERE:      Imin Conference Center, Koi Room, University of Hawaii at Manoa

1777 East-West Rd, Honolulu, HI  (Parking: approximately 85 free spots will be provided on the grounds adjacent to the Imin Center.  Additional parking is available in the Quarry lot.)