President Barack Obama makes a speech on a climate change at Georgetown University in Washington, DC on June 25, 2013. UPI/ Dennis Brack/Pool | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Calif., Nov. 1 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama established a task force Friday to help prepare the United States for the impacts of climate change.

Obama signed an executive order creating the task force on climate preparedness and resilience to advise the administration on "how the federal government can respond to the needs of communities nationwide that are dealing with the impacts of climate change," a White House fact sheet said.


Task force members include state, local and tribal leaders from across the country who will use their first-hand experiences in building climate preparedness in their communities to support their recommendations to the administration.

Among other things, the executive order directs federal agencies to:

Modernize federal programs to support climate-resilience.

Manage lands and waters for climate preparedness and resilience.

Provide information, data and tools for climate change preparedness and resilience.

Plan for climate change-related risk.

To implement these actions, the executive order establishes an interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, led by the White House and made up of more than 25 agencies.