The Critical Intersection of Climate Change and Emergency Management
By: Mrs. EmilyJane Zahreddine, MA, MPA
As the impact of climate change becomes increasingly severe and more frequent natural disasters occur, emergency managers have become the first line of defense in responding to the most significant threat to our homeland. The role of emergency managers has evolved from responding to short-term crises, such as floods or wildfires, to developing long-term strategies for managing the impacts of climate change.
Why Emergency Managers Are Key Players in Addressing the Climate Crisis
The nation needs a new breed of first responder to arm themselves with expertise in all five mission areas, mitigation, prevention, protection, response, and recovery, for the threats and hazards they will face over the next 20+ years, just as we have done in the age of global terrorism. Emergency Managers hold the essential skills and core competencies that make them critical to meeting the challenges our nation faces in the face of climate change that is resulting in strengthening and increased frequency of severe weather events across the country. Emergency Managers are the first responders of the climate crisis.
A first responder is anyone trained in responding to a disaster or emergency. Law enforcement, the fire service, and emergency medical personnel serve our nation faithfully every day, supporting us through the mundane and the catastrophic. Beyond that, they have also taken on the exceptional duty as first responders to the domestic War on Terror that gripped the nation on 9/11 and decades after. Today, we are at the precipice of the next significant threat to our way of life: the climate crisis. In stark contrast to the isolated and acute acts of terrorism over the past 20+ years, the effects of climate change are pervasive and sustained.
How to Respond to the Climate Crisis Today
If we can accept and acknowledge that Emergency Managers are the tip of the spear in the climate crisis, then the next step reveals itself clearly: swell our ranks and influence. To turn the faucet on and train as many people as possible in adjacent and corresponding fields, layperson to subject matter experts, new professionals, and those with decades of professional expertise. We need to swell our ranks and influence to ensure our skills in all five mission areas are represented as widely as possible in the fight against climate change's impacts on our communities.
About the Author:
Mrs. EmilyJane Zahreddine is an accomplished community leader with recognized public and private sector achievements. As the founder and CEO of Golden Hour Preparedness, based in Denver, CO, she guides organizations to navigate disasters and emergencies better. Before she transitioned to the business world, she supported the executive and legislative branches of the federal government’s efforts to maintain the continuity of our government under all circumstances. Following this, she transitioned to local government, where the rubber meets the road for emergency management. She served as the Program Manager for Emergency Preparedness for Arlington County, VA. During her professional career, she has achieved two master’s degrees, one in Public Administration (GMU) and another in National Defense and Security (NPS).