A new state program was unveiled last week to help coastal communities cope with the potential ravages of global climate change.The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) unveiled an initiative to address the on-the-ground impacts of catastrophic weather wrought by rising temperatures.The StormSmart Coasts program will be administered by the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and offer assistance to the state’s 78 coastal communities – including Lynn and others on the North Shore – in creating safe, economical, and practical ways for managing climate change-related hazards such as rising sea level and fiercer and more frequent storms.”Climate change is an increasing concern in Massachusetts, with the erosion and flooding that it could cause along our coastlines,” said EEA Secretary Ian Bowles, adding that StormSmart Coasts will work directly with shoreline communities, giving them the tools needed to plan ahead.CZM will launch StormSmart Coasts with a series of tailored, regional workshops this month, starting in Norwell. A workshop is also scheduled for Thursday, May 29, at the Peabody Institute Library in Danvers, from 9 a.m. to noon.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has lent assistance to the initiative. “With StormSmart Coasts, Massachusetts has developed a national model for implementing storm-resilient community strategies at the local level,” said Margaret Davidson, director of NOAA’s Coastal Services Center.CZM developed StormSmart Coasts to provide communities along the state’s 1,500-mile shoreline with a suite of tools and strategies for managing coastal floodplains. The program offers technical assistance and legal guidance for cities and towns, regulatory tools, case studies, planning strategies, and an extensive Web site (www.mass.gov/czm/stormsmart).Targeted audiences include municipal officials such as staff and members of planning boards, conservation commissions, zoning boards, and those agencies or departments responsible for public works, building and engineering, public health and emergency management.”The cornerstone of our work at CZM is technical assistance to coastal communities,” said CZM Director Leslie-Ann McGee. “StormSmart Coasts is the result of our staff – land-use planners and coastal geologists partnering with national legal and engineering experts – working directly with local officials to develop tools that will benefit coastal towns and cities right here in Massachusetts.”In its final report last May, the Massachusetts Coastal Hazards Commission recommended that the state “establish a storm-resilient communities program to provide case studies for effective coastal smart growth planning.”CZM developed StormSmart Coasts in response to that recommendation.The upcoming workshop in Danvers will feature Edward A. Thomas, an attorney at Michael Baker Jr. Engineering and a nationally recognized legal expert on these issues. Thomas will explain how communities can effectively develop plans to address the impact of climate change on coastal weather.