“They said ‘Ralph, if you mention sea level rise, that equates to climate change and that’s a nonstarter.’ … I went back and rewrote the legislation and called it recurrent flooding and they said, ‘OK. That’s fine,’ ” Northam said. “It’s all about having relationships here in Virginia, it’s about having experience. It’s about agreeing to disagree. … We call that the Virginia Way.”

Michael Allen, a professor and director of the geography program at Old Dominion University in Norfolk whose research is cited throughout the framework, drew a distinction between the recognition that scientists overwhelmingly agree climate change is occurring and opinions on policy approaches to that change.