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President Barack Obama has unveiled a package of building codes intended to safeguard against natural disasters, particularly those related to climate change.

The United States doesn’t have a national building code, as some nations do. U.S. states and local jurisdictions tend to adopt codes supported by the International Code Council.

The building code changes incorporate 鈥減rinciples of resilience.鈥� The need for seismic resiliency in the West was discussed at a recent conference. Resilient codes could make an area more likely to receive federal disaster relief funds.

Obama declared May National Building Safety Month and publicized a number of actions taken at various government agencies. For instance, FEMA 鈥� the Federal Emergency Management Agency 鈥� committed to exploring an incentive program involving a disaster deductible requirement for the Public Assistance Program. The plan would allow states to earn credits toward their deductible requirement through adoption and enforcement of building codes, according to a White House fact sheet.

Other programs include new maps and standards for tornado resilience, a website by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to promote more resilient communities and a report by the Environmental Protection Agency for communities to use when addressing climate change.

The public agencies were joined by a number of educational and professional organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, U.S. Green Building Council, Urban Land Institute and Associated General Contractors.

The AGC 鈥渂y and large鈥� supports the Obama initiatives, national spokesman Brian Turmail said.

鈥淚 think we’re in a very hopeful situation,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e think this is a reasonable and commonsense measure.鈥�
Given that the U.S. is so large and geographically diverse, Turmail praised the measures for not taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

鈥淥bviously, the codes should be different in a place that’s more likely to get hit by a hurricane than somewhere where you’re more worried about shifts in seismic activity,鈥� he said.