Human activities are changing the climate, with wide-ranging implications to human populations, ecosystems, and infrastructure. Climate change, hazards and policy are rapidly changing the landscape of oil spill risk, prevention, and response.

Foresight methods apply a forward-looking scenario approach in situations of high uncertainty. The methodology does not seek to predict the future but instead to envision the scope of possible changes so that decision-makers and practitioners may anticipate a range of potential risks and opportunities.

This paper describes a recently completed study for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to explore the intersection between climate change, adaptations, decarbonization, and oil spills. This work included the use of Foresight methods to support scenario-based analyses of future oil spill risk and readiness, yielding a series of recommendations to improve state oil spill program activities.

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