As climate change increases the severe weather Ohio will face, our municipalities will be the first to face significant costs to adapt. However, the exact financial burden local governments could face in the coming years is still murky.

The Ohio Environmental Council (OEC), in collaboration with Scioto Analysis and Power A Clean Future Ohio, compiled a report in July 2022 that seeks to fill that knowledge gap. The report, titled The Bill is Coming Due: Calculating the Final Cost of Climate Change to Ohio’s Local Governments, provides conservative estimates on how much municipal governments can expect to spend in the coming years on climate projects such as flood mitigation, storm recovery, road repair, and others.

Join Dion Mensah, Karin Nordstrom, and Molly Jo Stanley of the OEC as they discuss key features of this report and how it can help both local officials prepare budgets and help residents keep their officials accountable.