Georgia

Global climate change poses risks to human health and to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Important economic resources such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and water resources also may be affected. Warmer temperatures, more severe droughts and floods, and sea level rise could have a wide range of impacts. All these stresses can add to existing stresses on resources caused by other influences such as population growth, land-use changes, and pollution.

Climate Change in Georgia

Below are some of the potential impacts:

• By 2100 temperatures in Georgia could increase by about 2°F in summer (with a range of 1-4°F), 3°F in winter and spring (with a range of 1-7°F), and 4°F in fall (with a range of 2-9°F). Precipitation is estimated to increase by about 10% in winter and spring, and by 15-40% in summer and fall.
• Although it is not clear how severe storms such as hurricanes would change, an increase in the frequency and intensity of summer thunderstorms is possible.
• Georgia’s coastline, only about 100 miles long, has a barrier island system that includes 13 islands — The Golden Isles of Georgia. Behind the barrier islands of the Georgia coast lie extensive salt marshes dominated by smooth cordgrass. These 375,000 acres of salt marshes make up 1/4 of the remaining salt marshes in the eastern United States. The highly productive marshes provide homes for oysters and clams and serve as nursery grounds for young shrimp, crab, and fish. The marshes protect the shorelines from erosion and also act as a purification system by filtering out many pollutants added to the waters by human activities. Changes in rainfall would alter streamflow and flooding patterns of these wetlands, which are very sensitive to fairly small changes in water levels. sea level rise update
• At Fort Pulaski, sea level already is rising by 13 inches per century, and it is likely to rise another 25 inches by 2100. The wetlands along the low-lying coasts of Georgia are subsiding and may be either flooded or washed away as sea levels rise.
• Possible responses to sea level rise include building walls to hold back the sea, allowing the sea to advance and adapting to it, and raising the land (e.g., by replenishing beach sand, elevating houses and infrastructure). Each of these responses will be costly, either in out-of-pocket costs or in lost land and structures. For example, the cumulative cost of sand replenishment to protect the coast of Georgia from a 20-inch sea level rise by 2100 is estimated at $154 million to $1.3 billion.
• Ecosystems in Georgia consist largely of extensive forests and diverse wetlands, including the Okefenokee Swamp, extensive coastal tidal marshes, tidal creeks, and riparian forests, all of which are sensitive to changes in climate, especially changes in rainfall.

The above are based on from the Environmental Protection Agency's report on climate change, which uses data from the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2001).

For more info on climate change impacts on Georgia's water resources, agriculture, forests and ecosystems, you can download pdf of full EPA Report.

CO2: How Does Your State Rank?

Georgia is the highest emitter of C02 of all 50 states and the most populous.

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Maps

See CO2 output by sector, coastal population maps, and maps of regional initiatives.

Regional Initiatives

This state does not participate in any regional initiatives.

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Your Impact

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