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Climate Change  5 to 15 percent reductions in the yields of crops as currently grown. Sea level is rising at increasing rates due to global warming of the atmosphere and oceans and melting of the glaciers and ice sheets. Rising sea level and projections of stronger and more frequent El Niño events and tro pical cyclones in waters surrounding Hawai’i all indicate a growing vulnerability to coastal flooding and erosion. While the IPCC’s “business as usual” scenario, in which greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate of increase, predicts up to 3.61 feet of global sea level rise by 2100 (IPCC 2019), other observations and projections suggest that these ranges do not capture the full range of physically plausible global average sea level rise over the 21st century (NOAA, 2017). The National Climate Assessment completed by NOAA suggested that sea levels could rise as much as 8.2 feet by the end of the century if rapid loss of Antarctic ice occurred (U.S. Global Change Research Program, 2018). Figure 17-2 shows the projected rate of global sea level rise under different greenhouse gas scenarios (NOAA 2017). Source: NOAA, 2021 Figure 17-2. Possible Future Sea Levels for Different Greenhouse Gas Pathways Projections for California and San Mateo County The 2018 California 4th Climate Assessment outlines the following top climate change impact concerns for the state of California:  Wildfires—Climate change will make forests more susceptible to extreme wildfires. By 2100, if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, one study found that the frequency of extreme wildfires burning over 25,000 acres would increase by nearly 50 percent, and that average area burned statewide would increase by 77 percent by the end of the century. In areas with the highest fire risk, wildfire insurance is estimated to see costs rise by 18 percent by 2055 and the fraction of property insured would decrease.  Sea-Level Rise—A new model estimates that, under mid to high sea-level rise scenarios, 31 to 67 percent of Southern California beaches may completely erode by 2100 without large-scale human interventions. Statewide damage could reach nearly $18 billion from inundation of residential and commercial buildings under 20 inches of sea-level rise, which is close to the 95th percentile of potential sea-level rise by the 17-5