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Strategies and Actions <br />Adaptation <br />As noted earlier, the climate is changing rapidly. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration <br />(NOAA): <br />"The globally averaged temperature departure from average over land and ocean surfaces for 2019 was the second <br />highest since record keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA scientists. December's combined global land and <br />ocean surface temperature departure from average for 2019 was also second highest in the 140 -year record. In a <br />separate analysis of global temperature data, WMO, NASA and Copernicus scientists determined 2019 to also be <br />the second warmest year on record. Analyses from the United Kingdom Met Office ranked 2019 among the top <br />three warmest years on record. <br />For 2019, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.71'F (0.95°C) above the 20th <br />century average. This was the second highest among all years in the 1880-2019 record and just 0.07°F (0.04°C) <br />less than the record value set in 2016. The five warmest years have occurred since 2015; nine of the 10 warmest <br />years have occurred since 2005. The year 1998 is the only 20th century year among the 10 warmest years on <br />record. 1157 <br />Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gasses tomorrow, the climate would continue to change due to the length <br />of the carbon cycle — the ability of the Earth to absorb excess carbon in the ocean and plants. Therefore, climate <br />change is inevitable and our communities must plan to adapt to it. <br />Adaptation planning is most effective at the local level. To develop its adaptation strategy, Redwood City will refer <br />to the following integrated set of policies and tools: <br />• California Adaptation Planning Guide from the California Office of Emergency Services (still in draft form: <br />https://www.caloes.ca.gov/HazardMitigationSite/Documents/APG2-FI NAL-PR-DRAFTAccessible.pdf) <br />• Safeguarding California Plan: California's Climate Adaptation Strategy (2018 Update) <br />• Cal -Adapt 2.0 (released October 2017 and updated regularly, most recently in January 2020) <br />• California's Climate Change Assessment (most recently updated in 2018) <br />• State of California General Plan Guidelines (updated periodically, most recently updated in 2017) <br />• Adaptation Clearinghouse <br />• State Hazard Mitigation (2018 Update) <br />In addition, the County of San Mateo has embarked on a multi -sector adaptation strategy, Climate Ready SMC, to <br />plan, assess, and implement strategies to address sea -level rise and flooding, changes in precipitation, extreme <br />heat, and wildfires in San Mateo County.58 Redwood City plans to coordinate closely with the County on adaptation <br />planning efforts. <br />For more information on adaptation planning, see Appendix D or visit the Climate Ready SMC website: <br />https://www.smcsustainability.org/climate-ready. <br />City of Redwood City Climate Action Plan 62 <br />