A Stronger More Resilient New York

The New York City Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency

Overview: The New York City Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency is a city agency created to address infrastructure concerns in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

How to Use This Resource: This report outlines precisely what elements of New York City’s infrastructure are vulnerable to extreme weather, what has been done to fortify it, and what remains to be done. Updates have followed in the city’s OneNYC initiative (2016 report)  

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North Carolina Sea Level Rise Assessment Report

North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Commission's Science Panel

Overview: The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Panel is a group of volunteer scientists conducting research on behalf of the Coastal Resources Commission.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will an in-depth analysis of the science behind rising sea levels, the impact it will have on North Carolina, and initiatives in place to fortify the state infrastructure.

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Adaptation News

The Daily Climate

Overview: The Daily Climate is an independent media organization working to increase public understanding of climate change.

How to Use This Resource: This website curates articles on climate change adaptation, with a focus on international policies, from the world’s top news sources and makes them readily accessible in one location.

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Compact of Mayors News and Research

The Compact of Mayors

Overview: The Compact of Mayors is the world’s largest coalition of city leaders addressing climate change by pledging to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, tracking their progress and preparing for the impacts of climate change.

How to Use This Resource: This archive of news updates and reports from the Compact of Mayors follows adaptation progress in cities across the globe.

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Connecting People to Build Inclusive Urban Climate Change Resilience

The Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network

Overview: The Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network works to contribute knowledge, create resources, and promote agendas to build inclusive urban climate change resilience.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find an archive of reports, research and data on the progress of climate change adaptation in developing Asian nations.

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Data Distribution Centre

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Overview: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific body within the United Nations that reviews scientific, technical and socio-economic information on climate change.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find the socio-economic and carbon emission data that supports IPCC publications and reports.

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Data.gov

Data.gov

Overview: Data.gov is an online database that is managed by the U.S. General Services Administration.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find government-sponsored data on the projected impacts of climate change on the nation’s infrastructure, public health and natural resources.

Delaware Braces for Climate Change

The News Journal

Overview: The News Journal covers breaking news in the state of Delaware.

How to Use This Resource: This article covers the extent of Delaware’s plans to  improve their flood response policy, fortify the coastline’s infrastructure, and invest in a more resilient public transportation system.

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Economic Aspects of Adaptation Research

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Overview: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a consortium of 34 nations in Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Asia that promote international economic development.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find research and reports from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on the economic aspects of climate change adaptation.

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Federal Action on Climate Change

Performance.gov

Overview: Performance.gov provides the public with a view of the inner workings of the Federal Government.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a complete archive of the federal agencies concerned with climate change and the most up-to-date reports on their plans and progress.

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Finance Research and Data

Inter-American Development Bank

Overview: The Inter-American Development Bank provides financial and technical support for countries in South and Latin America to reduce poverty and inequality  in a sustainable, climate-friendly way.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find reports and data on adaptation finance in Latin and South America.

Fostering Community Disaster Resilience: A Fact Sheet for Journalists and News Organizations

The Disaster and Community Crisis Center at the University of Missouri

Overview: The Disaster and Community Crisis Center at the University of Missouri focuses on enhancing mental and behavioral health preparedness, recovery, and resilience in children, families, and communities affected by disaster.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a comprehensive guid on the best practices for reporting in a disaster; how to prepare, report, and do no harm.

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Green Infrastructure Toolkit

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Overview: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a federal agency within the United States Department of Commerce dedicated to the preservation of oceans and the atmosphere.

How to Use This Resource: This toolkit provides local-level data about the coastal risks of climate change and provide an extensive menu of techniques to mitigate those risks.

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Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation

Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Life Science

Overview: Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Life Science conducts research on biotechnology, biomedical engineering, renewable energies and process engineering, nutrition and health, hazard control and rescue engineering and industrial engineering.

How to Use This Resource: This book examines on the micro and macro levels the socioeconomic impacts of climate change and the process of adaptation.

Health and Human Services Climate Adaptation Plan

The United States Department of Health and Human Services

Overview: The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a cabinet-level agency responsible for protecting human health.

How to Use This Resource: This report assesses the full impact that climate change will have on American health. It outlines plans to update its facilities and practices to better serve vulnerable communities within the United States.

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Hurricane Sandy Recovery Progress Report

New York City Office of the Mayor

Overview: This report provides updates on the progress of the  Office of the Mayor’s Housing Recovery Operations and the Build it Back Program in the three years since Hurricane Sandy first hit New York City. 

How to Use This Resource: The city intends to provide financial relief and expedite recovery for homeowners and better engage local communities directly in the rebuilding process.  This report provides a detailed analysis of those efforts, as well as the Build it Back Program, which offers financial assistance to homeowners who were hit by the Hurricane Sandy.

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Impacts and Adaptations Research Hub

Climate Access

Overview: Climate Access is a network for those engaging the public in the transformation to low-carbon, resilient communities.

How To Use This Research: This archive holds extensive reports on adaptation efforts across the globe and is searchable by region and by climate change impacts.

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Infrastructure Update Three Years Later: Progress Being Made Toward A More Resilient New York

New York Building Congress

How to Use This Resource: This archive of reports examines how New York City’s infrastructures, such as its transportation systems and public housing, fare after being hit by Hurricane Sandy. It is updated monthly.

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Know Your Zone

New York City Office of Emergency Management

Overview: New York City’s Office of Emergency Management is a coordinating agency that prepares for emergencies, coordinates emergency response, and shares emergency information.

How to Use This Resource: This site contains practical information about New York City’s  hurricane response policies and includes maps of hurricane evacuation zones, potential hurricane hazards, and  preparation techniques.

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Low Carbon Transformation Research

Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership

Overview: Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership is a University of Cambridge institution that publishes scholarly articles on issues of global concern with a strong focus on climate change.

How to Use This Resource: This archive of reports and scholarly articles focuses on the need to adapt to cleaner energy sources and details initiatives taking place in the financial sector.

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Mapping the Impacts of Climate Change

The Center for Global Development

Overview: The Center for Global Development is Washington D.C. think tank that researches how policies of powerful nations affect the developing world.

How to Use This Resource: This map ranks countries by four climate criteria: Extreme weather, sea level rise, agricultural productivity loss and overall. It draws from new Center for Global Development adaptation research that is available as a dataset and a report on the site.

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Mitigation and Adaptation Policies

Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet

Overview: The Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet is a NASA-sponsored project that archives timely news and data on Earth’s changing climate.

How to Use This Resource: This database makes NASA-sponsered data available to the general public with a special focus on adaption and mitigation.

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Municipal Risk Assessment Tool

Insurance Bureau of Canada

Overview: The Insurance Bureau of Canada is an association that represents Canada’s private home, auto and business insurers. ​It works to enhance the public’s understanding of the insurance industry.

How to Use This Resource: The technology on this site was developed by insurers and city governments to map Canada’s water supply infrastructure and record where it is most vulnerable.

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National Climate Assessment NCANet Toolkit

The United States Global Change Research Program

Overview: The United States Global Change Research Program is a coalition of 13 federal departments and agencies research the human-induced and natural processes of climate change.

How to Use This Resource:  Participants of this information-sharing platform contribute their climate change research materials to this easily searchable database. The Adaptation + Mitigation and Built Infrastructure sections cover climate change action on the federal, state, and local level.

National Disaster Resilience Competition

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Exchange

Overview: The Department of Housing and Urban Development is the cabinet-level agency responsible for the development of quality and affordable housing in the United States.

How to Use This Resource: Forty states and communities are competing in the final phase of the challenge to develop disaster resilience strategies and projects. This site provides a comprehensive guide to what action those governments are taking.

National Energy Policy News

InsideClimate News

Overview: InsideClimate News is a Pulitzer prize-winning news organization that covers clean energy and the how climate adaptation law, policy and public opinion are shaped.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find in-depth reporting at the nexus of energy policy and climate change adaption in the United States.

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ND-GAIN Global Adaptation Index

The University of Notre Dame's Environmental Change Initiative and Climate Change Adaptation Program

Overview: The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index (GAIN) researches strategies for increasing resilience in climate change-vulnerable communities across the globe.

How to Use This Resource: The GAIN index maps the world’s climate change readiness based on water, food, health infrastructure data on every continent.

 

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New York State Hurricane Sandy Response Programs

The Governor's Office of Storm Recovery

Overview: The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery was formed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to centralize recovery and rebuilding efforts in areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

How to Use This Resource: This site details the New York State programs dedicated to housing recovery, small business, and community reconstruction.

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Paris Climate Change Conference Information Hub

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Overview: The Paris 2015 Climate Change Conference was the 21st meeting of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, whose aim is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.

How to Use This Resource: The extensive conference information hub is a go-to site for reporters covering the Nov. 30-Dec. 11, 2015 summit, providing agendas, reports, schedules, research pertaining, and more. There’s also a web site on Understanding the UNFCC that includes a detailed discussion of adaptation initiatives.

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Portland and Multnomah County Climate Action Plan

The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability

Overview: The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability develops practical policies to enhance Portland’s climate resiliency  and decrease its carbon footprint.

How to Use This Resource: This report outlines the actions that Portland will take in the next five years to reduce carbon emissions and build up infrastructure to withstand extreme weather such as floods, heatwaves, and landslides.

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Practicing Architecture: Resilience by Design

The American Institute of Architects

Overview: The American Institute of Architects is the leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners in the United States. It serves as a voice for the architecture profession and promotes service across the nation.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a comprehensive database of reports, guidelines, and toolkits on the future and best practices of resilient and sustainable architecture.

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President Obama’s Plan to Fight Climate Change

WhiteHouse.gov

Overview: WhiteHouse.gov serves as an archive of news and information pertaining to the President of the United States. It regularly publishes policies, speeches, reports and briefs.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a structured explanation of federal government policies to reduce carbon pollution and encourage investment in clean energy. It also provides links to policy assessment reports, supporting research, and comprehensive fact sheets.

Progress Report: Targets and Initiatives 2

Greenworks Philadelphia

Overview: Greenworks Philadelphia is the City’s first comprehensive sustainability plan. Its drafting incorporated existing work within the Philadelphia government and external partners.

How to Use This Resource: This report details the Philadelphia government’s policies to combat climate change and make the city more resilient.

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Regional and Country Profiles

Eldis

Overview: Eldis is an information service publishes diverse research on development issues worldwide.

How to Use This Resource: This database is an excellent resource for current reports on financing climate change adaptation in the developing world.

Renewable Energy: Cutting Pollution, Creating Opportunity

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Overview: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is the agency responsible for the conservation of natural resources and enforcing the state’s environmental laws and regulations.

How to Use This Resource: Journalist will find information on energy policy in New York State – who provides it, how it is distributed, and what percentage is renewable. There is also information on state plans to to upgrade distribution infrastructure and increase reliance on clean energy.  

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Research on Adaptation and Vulnerability Database

The Stockholm Environmental Institute

Overview: The Stockholm Environmental Institute is an independent research institute that analyzes and proposes sustainable policy at local, national, regional and global policy levels.

How to Use This Website: The Stockholm Environmental Institute regularly archives their reports on the financial elements of adaptation and sustainability.

Resilience and Adaptation in New England

Northeast Regional Ocean Council

Overview: The Northeast Regional Ocean Council is a state and federal partnership that assists the region’s states, federal agencies and local organizations to address oceanic issues.

How to Use This Resource: This presentation from the EPA Region 1 Climate Mapping Effort in May, 2015 details the efforts of the Northeast Regional Ocean Council to adapt the New England coastline to climate change.

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Risk and Adaptation News Database

Carbon Brief

Overview: Carbon Brief is a United Kingdom-based website that covers developments in climate science and policy.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find  data-driven articles enhanced with graphics on a wide range of topics, such as science, energy, policy, and breaking climate news.

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Seizing the Global Opportunity

The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate

Overview: The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate is an independent think tank, commissioned by Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Norway, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom, to address the financial concerns caused by climate change.

How to Use This Resource: This report explores initiatives that would result in both stronger economic growth and a better climates in developing countries.

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Special Initiatives

Eye on the Earth Initiative

Overview: Eye on Earth is a coalition of global leaders, innovators and decision-makers working to unite policymakers, converge consensus, and foster further global collaboration toward climate adaptation.

How to Use This Resource: This database provides policymakers with an information-sharing platform to share their knowledge of fighting climate change. Sorted by topic, the site features extensive research on disaster response, water security, and emission reduction, among others.

State and Local Climate Adaptation Map

Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

Overview: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions is an independent nonprofit advocating for policy action to address climate change.  It is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

How to Use This Resource: This map shows how American cities and states are adapting to their individual climate challenges. It includes examples of city adaptation actions and provides plan details on a city and state level where available.

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Superstorm Sandy News, Articles, and Research

City Limits

Overview: City Limits is a nonprofit news source for investigative journalism on the inner workings of New York City.

How to Use This Resource: Hurricane Sandy plays a key role in the continuing conversation on climate adaptation. This archive of the storm’s news coverage is a valuable resource for journalists to track its impact on the local level in New York City.

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Sustainability DC: Sustainable DC Plan

Sustainable DC

Overview: Sustainable DC is the District of Columbia’s major planning effort to make the city a sustainable one.  It is led by the Department of Energy and Environment and the Office of Planning with input and participation of thousands of D.C. community members.

How to Use This Resource: The Sustainability DC Plan details how the capital intends to improve its infrastructure and adapt to the changing climate.

 

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The Climate Center Research on Agriculture

The University of Michigan Graham Sustainability Institute

Overview: The University of Michigan Graham Sustainability Institute researches solutions for the long-term social, economic, and environment sustainability of the Great Lakes region in the face of climate change.

How to Use This Resource: The Climate Center delivers reports and datasets on the impacts climate change will have on American agriculture and the adaptation strategies underway.

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The Climate Group

The Climate Group

Overview: The Climate Group is an international nonprofit that advocates for a low carbon energy economy.

How to Use This Resource:  The Climate Group develops climate finance mechanisms and business models which promote innovation, and supportive policy frameworks which are available on this site.

 

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The Climate Impacts: Global and Regional Adaptation Support Platform Database

ci:grasp

Overview: CI:Grasp is a climate information service that collects data on current and projected climate stimuli, impacts and adaptation options on a national and regional level.

How to Use This Resource: This enormous database allows journalists to search for worldwide adaptation projects by numerous criteria, such as region, climate change effect, and source.

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The New Orleans Index at Ten: Measuring Greater New Orleans’ Progress toward Prosperity

The Data Center

Overview: The Data Center provides independent data analysis on disaster recovery and regional economic analysis in Southeast Louisiana.

How to Use This Resource: New Orlean’s recovery after Hurricane Katrina is a case study in the successes and failures of resilience investment. This report examines how the city used climate change adaptation to bolster the city’s economy yet why certain communities are still struggling to recover.

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The Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Program

Adaption Scotland

Overview: Adaptation Scotland is a collaboration of businesses and policymakers funded by, and working for, the Scottish government.

How to Use This Resource: Adaption Scotland details how climate change has and will affect Scotland as well as the Scottish government’s plans to adapt its infrastructure and prepare its populace.

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Transportation, Waste, Water and Energy Resources in Boston

Greenovate Boston

Overview: Greenovate Boston is a citywide initiative to engage the community in climate adaptation and sustainability.

How to Use This Resource: This database provides up-to-date information on sustainable and climate-friendly resources and organizations in Boston. The site also provides links to climate adaptation policy, reports and news in the Boston area.

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U.S. Congress Bills on Climate Change Adaptation Database

Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

Overview: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to advance climate change and energy policy in the United States.

How to Use This Resource: This database provides a list of every climate change bill in the 113th Congress. It identifies the bill’s sponsor, summarizes its contents, and reports on its status. Bills are organized by topic, which include climate change adaptation, energy, transportation, renewable fuels, and carbon.

United States Federal Adaptation Resources

Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

Overview: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions is an independent nonprofit advocating for policy action to address climate change.  It is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a database of adaptation resources such as reports, bill proposals, and datasets for policymakers on the federal, state and municipal level.

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Yale Climate Connections

The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication

Overview: The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication conducts research on public climate knowledge and provides communicators with tools to engage their audiences.

How to Use This Resource: Yale Climate Connections is a multimedia service that broadcasts daily radio and print stories about climate change.

Yale Project on Climate Change Communication

The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Overview: The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies conducts research to sustain and restore the long-term health of the planet and the people who inhabit it.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find up-to-date research and reports on how the public perceives climate change risk and how those perceptions influence adaptation policy worldwide.

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Beyond Storms & Droughts: The Psychological Impacts of Climate Change

American Psychological Association

Overview: The American Psychological Association  is the largest scientific psychological organization in the United States. It works to advance the  application of psychological knowledge nationwide.

How to Use This Resource: This report details psychological ramifications of climate change on human welfare.

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Canada in a Changing Climate: Sector Perspectives on Impacts and Adaptation

Natural Resources Canada

Overview: Natural Resources Canada is the branch of the Canadian government responsible protecting the country’s natural resources, with a focus on agricultural and clean energy policy.

How to Use This Resource: This report documents the state Canada’s climate adaption process in the food production, human health, water supply and transportation sectors.

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Climate Adaptation: Seizing the Challenge

World Economic Forum

Overview: The World Economic Forum is an independent, international organization that collaborates with decision makers in the political and business spheres to shape global policies.

How to Use This Resource: Sub-Saharan African nations are among the most vulnerable to climate change and the least ready to adapt, according to this World Economic Forum report. Journalists will find data on the climate change and economic factors that weakens these nations.

Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Overview: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific body within the United Nations that reviews scientific, technical and socio-economic information on climate change.

How to Use this Resource: This report details the impacts of climate change worldwide to date. It found that while the process of adaptation has already begun, most climate change action is still reactionary.

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Climate Change Action Plan

National Park Service

Overview: The National Park Service is a branch of the United States Department of the Interior and is responsible for the upkeep and protection of national parks.

How to Use This Resource: This report articulates the unilateral actions that parks can pursue to increase resilience within their ongoing facility management operations. The Action Plan also details the challenges on the horizon and possible solutions to mitigate them. Also see the Park Service’s climate change resource page and its resources on wildland fire.

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Climate Change Adaptation: Lessons From Urban Economics

NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management

Overview: The NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management specializes in urban economies research, their reports feature important data on how climate change influences urban markets.

How to Use This Resource: This paper develops a dynamic model for measuring the contributions urban residents and businesses make to readying their cities for climate change.

 

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Climate Change Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Overview: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific body within the United Nations that reviews scientific, technical and socio-economic information on climate change.

How to Use This Resource: This synthesis report is provides a global perspective of climate change and addresses its causes, future impacts, and future pathways for adaptation.

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Connecting on Climate: A Guide to Effective Climate Change Communication

The Center for Research on Environmental Decisions

Overview: The Center for Research on Environmental Decisions is an interdisciplinary center that studies decision-making during climate uncertainty. It is run through Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

How to Use This Resource:  This is a guide for communicating about climate change in a manner that is clear but not simplified.

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Dawn of the Smart City? Perspectives from New York, Ahmedabad, Sao Paulo and Beijing

The Wilson Center

Overview: The Wilson Center is a non-partisan policy forum that addresses global issues through independent research to draft actionable policy recommendations.

How to Use This Resource: This collection of essays examines the application of smart technology innovations in New York, Sao Paulo, Beijing and Ahmedabad  to combat the risks of climate change.

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Excessive Heat Event Coordination Plan

The Heat Task Force of Greater Milwaukee

Overview: The Heat Task Force of Greater Milwaukee is a diverse collection of municipal, county, and state government agencies, as well as private, non-profit, and community organizations to combat extreme heat in vulnerable city regions.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a detailed plan from Milwaukee how on city mitigates extreme heat in an urban setting.

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Extreme Weather and Climate Readiness: Toolkit for State and Territorial Health Departments

The Climate Change Collaborative

Overview: The Climate Change Collaborative is a project from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials to help prepare its agencies for the effects of climate change.

How to Use This Resource: In this report, journalists will find information on how the nation’s key public health programs are integrating climate readiness into their policies.

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Global Risks 2014: Understanding Systemic Risks in a Changing Global Environment

The World Economic Forum

Overview: The World Economic Forum is an independent, international organization that collaborates with decision makers in the political and business spheres to shape global policies.

How to Use This Resource: In a ranking of the top 10 global risks facing humanity, climate change is the cause of almost half, according to this risk assessment report from the World Economic Forum. It details the various ways extreme weather puts the planet at risk.

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Playing with Fire: How Climate Change and Development Patterns Are Contributing to the Soaring Costs of Western Wildfires

The Union of Concerned Scientists

Overview: The Union of Concerned Scientists is an independent consortium of scientists and advocates that work to develop and promote sustainable policies worldwide.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a data-packed report on the causes and costs of wildfires in the western region of the United States.

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Protecting Our Capital: How Climate Adaptation in Cities Creates a Resilient Place for Business

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group

Overview: C40 is a network of international cities that share information and collaborate on climate change action.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find data from more than 200 cities on their adaptation initiatives on the micro and macro level.

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Resilient Cities: A Grosvenor Research Report

The Grosvenor Group

Overview: Grosvenor is a privately owned property group with properties across the globe that advocates for sustainable growth and climate adaptation.

How to Use This Resource: This report ranked the major cities of the world by climate resiliency. American cities dominated the top of the list and only two European cities, Stockholm and Zurich, made the top 10. The lowest ranking cities were those with high population forecasts and shoddy infrastructure, such as Mexico City. This data will be useful to journalists looking for contextual information.

RISE: An Ideas Competition Addressing Sea Level Rise

Simon Fraser University Public Square

Overview: Simon Fraser University Public Square is an initiative to provide diverse community leaders with a platform to discuss issues of public concern.

How to Use This Resource: This competition was designed to foster innovation to address the problem of rising sea levels in Vancouver. The site now hosts the competitor’s plans.

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Rising Waters, Rising Threat: How Climate Change Endangers America’s Neglected Wastewater Infrastructure

The Center for American Progress

Overview: The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of Americans.

How to Use This Resource:  As extreme weather strains sewer systems, wastewater infrastructure is becoming a critical public and environmental health concern. This report investigates the state of the sewage infrastructure and recommends policy to adapt it.

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Texas Coastal Communities Planning Atlas

The Institute for Sustainable Coastal Communities

Overview: The Institute for Sustainable Coastal Communities is a joint initiative between the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University at Galveston. The institute works to help prepare coastal communities adapt to extreme coastal weather.

How to Use This Resource: The Coastal Atlas is a detailed web-based program that maps data on the state of the Texas coast, specifically its flood zones, population density, and infrastructure at risk.

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The Big One: The East Coast’s USD 100 Billion Hurricane Event 

Swiss Reinsurance Company

Overview: Swiss Reinsurance Company is a reinsurance company based in Zurich.

How to Use This Resource: In 1821, a powerful hurricane decimated the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States. If it were to strike today, it would potentially cost more than $100 billion in property losses. This report examines what data exists from that storm to predict the impact of future mega-storms.

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Two Years after Superstorm Sandy: Exploring Resilience in Twelve Neighborhoods

The Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center for Public Affairs Research

Overview: The Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center for Public Affairs Research is a joint collaboration between the University of Chicago and the AP to creative unbiased journalism that is rigorously researched.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a report on Hurricane Sandy recovery that focuses on the critical role social factors play in community resilience.

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Africa’s Adaptation Gap: A Technical Report

United Nations Environment Programme

Overview: The United Nations Environment Programme represents the environment within the United Nations system.

How to Use This Resource: Africa’s Adaptation Gap Report is a stark analysis of where Africa stands in relation to its adaptation goals. The continent serves as a cautionary indicator of what may happen should the emissions gap remain.

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Bloomberg’s Hidden Legacy: Climate Change and the Future of New York City

Inside Climate News

Overview: Inside Climate News is a Pulitzer prize-winning, nonprofit news organization that covers clean energy, carbon energy, nuclear energy and environmental science.

How to Use This Resource:  Mayor Bloomberg’s initiatives to fortify New York City after Hurricane Sandy have since become a model for urban adaptation across the globe. This book details those initiatives.

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Canada’s Ongoing Commitment to Climate Change Adaptation

Environment Canada

Overview: Environment Canada is the branch of the Canadian government responsible for conducting scientific research on Canada’s  environment and for draft legislation to maintain it.

How to Use This Resource: This policy brief reports on how federal adaptation funds are being allocated in Canada.

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Climate Change and the Small Business Sector

Small Business Majority and the American Sustainable Business Council

Overview: Small Business Majority is a network of 12,000 small business owners that conducts polling, focus groups and economic research to better inform policy makers about the concerns of their constituents. The American Sustainable Business Council represents more than 165,000 businesses nationwide and advocates for sustainability in the economic sector.

How to Use This Resource: To illustrate how American businesses are responding to climate change, this report presents six case studies from a wide range of sectors, including roofing, retail, tourism, landscape architecture, agriculture, and small-scale manufacturing.

 

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Climate, Mind and Behavior Symposium

The Garrison Institute

Overview: The Garrison Institute is a nonprofit organization that explores the intersection of contemplation and action in the world.

How to Use This Resource: This symposium and resultant report examine the integration of climate change research findings about what drives human thinking on climate solutions.

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Disaster and Crisis Coverage

International Center for Journalists

Overview: The International Center for Journalists is a non-profit organization that promotes journalism worldwide.

How to Use This Resource: This report serves as a practical guide for journalists preparing to report on natural disasters during a crisis.

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East Coast Harbors Affected by Hurricane Sandy

The New York - New Jersey Harbor Coalition

Overview: The New York – New Jersey Harbor Coalition is a campaign of local and national advocacy organizations working to improve and adapt the region’s waterways.

How to Use This Resource: The maps on the Harbor Coalition provides valuable data on the East Coast harbor, how it was impacted by Hurricane Sandy, and what plans are in the work to repair and improve it.

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Natural Disasters: Saving Lives Today, Building Resilience for Tomorrow

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Overview: The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is an international research organization based in London that campaigns for sustainable policies worldwide.

How to Use This Resource:  The rapid increase of people living in cities and is worsening the world’s susceptibility to natural disasters. This report details the ramifications of that susceptibility and makes economic and policy recommendations to improve urban resiliency.

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Recent OECD work on Adaptation to Climate Change

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Overview: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a consortium of 34 nations in Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Asia that promote international economic development.

How to Use This Resource: This report details what actions the OECD has taken to assist developing countries prepare for climate change, how best to invest in future adaptation, and where funds are needed most.

Rising Seas

National Geographic Magazine

Overview: National Geographic Magazine is the official magazine of the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C. It covers issues pertaining to geography, history and world culture.

How to Use This Resource: In this multimedia project by National Geographic, reporter Tim Folger examines the process of deciding what is worth protecting on our nation’s coastline and what must be abandoned. His reporting is complemented by several valuable datasets on rising sea levels.

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Sustainable Cities: Building Cities for the Future

Climate Action Programme and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group

Overview: The United Kingdom’s Climate Action Programme and the American C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group partnered to publish this report on innovative climate change adaptation in Adelaide, Chicago, Copenhagen, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find detailed analyses of city-level initiatives in carbon neutrality, public transportation, ecological architecture, and other such green topics.

The Plumbing of Adaptation Finance: Accountability, Transparency, and Accessibility at the Local Level

World Resources Institute

Overview: The World Resources Institute is a global research organization that focuses on the critical elements of achieving sustainability worldwide.

How to Use This Resource: This report analyzes adaptation financing in Nepal, the Philippines, Uganda, and Zambia to examine how much finance is available within developing countries and whether the needs of the most vulnerable are being met.

Updating Maryland’s Sea-level Rise Projections

Maryland Climate Change Commission

Overview: The Maryland Climate Change Commission is a state government agency devoted to implementing policy to fortify Maryland’s infrastructures.

How to Use This Resource: Maryland has 3,100 miles of tidal shoreline and low-lying rural and urban lands, which leave the state highly vulnerable to rising sea levels. This report is filled with data about how the Maryland coast will change and what needs to be done to adapt.

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Business Risk Assessment and the Management of Climate Change Impacts: Eight Philippine Cities

World Wide Fund for Nature

Overview: The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international conservation organization working to reduce the impact of human activity on the environment and wildlife.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find extensive reporting on the business of funding climate change adaptation in the Philippines.

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Climate Policy Resources

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Overview: The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a private research organization that focuses on the use, regulation, and taxation of land, including implications related to climate change.

How to Use This Resource: Various climate policy resources are published by the Institute. Among them is the Planet of Cities book by Shlomo Angel reports on the developing science of cities and preparing them for expansion and climate change.

Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative

The National Academies Press

Overview: The National Academies Press publishes the reports of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and operates under a United States Congress charter.

How to Use This Resource: This book focuses on the particular challenges of crafting federal policies on climate resiliency that suite a vast amount of Americans communities, each with their own individual needs.

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Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Public Health Practice

Environmental Health Perspectives Journal

Overview: Environmental Health Perspectives is a peer-reviewed research journal from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

How to Use This Resource: This article outlines the range of climate change’s impacts on human health, how national health facilities have already adapted, and what more they can do.

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Ocean Acidification: From Knowledge to Action Summary Report

Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification

Overview: Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification is a research group convened by Washington States’s Office of the Governor.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a comprehensive overview of what causes ocean acidification, the negative impact it has on local economies, and what policies and practices might curtail it.

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Population Dynamics, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development in Africa

The African Institute for Development Policy

Overview: The African Institute for Development Policy is an an African-led nonprofit, established to help bridge the gaps between research, policy and practice in the areas of population change, public health, and the environment in Africa.

How to Use This Resource: Sub-Saharan African nations need more funds to combat climate change, but weak political systems make it difficult to channel those funds where they are needed. This report analyzed the data and found that improving health, schooling, and economic opportunities would greatly increase the continent’s capacity to adapt.

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Climate Change and Cities: First Assessment Report of the Urban Climate Change Research Network

The Urban Climate Change Research Network of Columbia University's Earth Institute

Overview: The Urban Climate Change Research Network institutionalizes the assessment process of climate change science, tailored for urban needs.

How to Use This Resource: The ARC3 report is a global, interdisciplinary, science-based assessment of the climate change risks unique to cities. The next report in the series was to be published in time for the 2015 Paris UN climate conference.

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French National Climate Change Impact Adaptation Plan

The French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing

Overview: The French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, and Energy is a cabinet-level agency responsible for policies on climate change adaptation. 

How to Use This Resource:  France’s climate plan focused primarily on fortifying national infrastructure and preserving public health.

Climate Change and Fire Management Research Strategy

The British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range Wildfire Management Branch

Overview: The British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range Wildfire Management Branch is responsible for policy relating to forests and wildfire within its region.

How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find a synthesis report on the research on climate change and wildfire management.

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Combatting Climate Change: The German Adaptation Policy

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety

Overview: The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety is the German governmental body responsible for policies on climate action,  urban development, and rural infrastructure

How to Use This Resource: This report outlines the German plan to adapt to climate change. It focuses specifically on infrastructure adaption in agricultural, transportation, and water supply sectors.

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The Rotterdam Approach

The Rotterdam Climate Initiative

Overview: The Rotterdam Climate Initiative offers a platform for companies, academies, citizens, and government bodies to work together on fortified water supply infrastructure.

How to Use This Resource: This website archives the numerous reports from the city of Rotterdam on how it plans to cut its COemissions and promote sustainable business in the Netherlands.