Alaskan communities threatened by rising sea levels and coastal erosion have sounded the alarm after the Trump administration halted federal assistance for climate adaptation. The Denali Commission, an Anchorage-based agency developing plans to safeguard or relocate dozens of towns, has seen its work grind to a halt.
Joel Clement, a former interior department official working with Alaskan communities, claimed he was reassigned to an unrelated role due to the administration’s hostility to climate issues. 'We were getting down to the brass tacks of relocation and now work has just stopped,' Clement told the Guardian. 'It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change.'
According to the Army Corps of Engineers, 31 communities face 'imminent' threats from erosion and flooding. Among the most vulnerable are Kivalina, Newtok, Shishmaref and Shaktoolik, which will require relocation. Shishmaref residents voted to move to the mainland last August, but funding remains elusive: relocating its 600 inhabitants would cost an estimated $180m.
The threats stem from a confluence of factors: retreating sea ice leaves towns exposed to storms, melting permafrost undermines buildings, and warming temperatures disrupt wildlife patterns. Mike Brubaker of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium noted the psychological toll: 'People are coping with the loss of their history, hunting grounds and burial sites.'
Victoria Hermann of the Arctic Institute lamented the loss of momentum, saying: 'It feels like the Obama administration was kickstarting something useful but now it has dropped dead.' Without federal coordination, prospects for these communities remain bleak.
