Overview: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services. It uses its prevention expertise to advise cities and states on investigating, preparing for, and responding to the health ramifications of climate change.
How to Use This Resource: This progress report on the CDC’s climate change adaptation program details what health risks are caused by climate change and which programs have been most effective in combatting them.
ND-GAIN Global Adaptation Index
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.
Sustainable Cities: Building Cities for the Future
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.
Mayors Challenge
Overview: Bloomberg Philanthropies is a nonprofit led by Michael Bloomberg, former New York City mayor, that promotes municipal climate change adaptation.
How to Use This Resource: Journalists interested in innovative city responses to climate change should examine Stockholm’s biochar project and Houston’s new recycling technology.
Extreme Weather Research
Overview: Climate Central is an independent organization of scientists and journalists researching and reporting climate change in the United States.
How to Use This Resource: Climate Central scientists survey and conduct research on climate change, then partner with journalists to report their findings. The result is this database of scientific research covering topics such as energy, sea level rise, wildfires and drought.
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
Overview: The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a network of international cities that share information and collaborate on climate change action. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a key funder.
How to Use This Resource: The site’s database allows journalists to search among participating cities for adaptation and other initiatives. Its research menu provides access to extensive reports, case studies and data, including on adaptation and on low carbon emissions in cities.
Climate Communication Research and Reports
Overview: Climate Outreach is a European climate change communication organization. It focuses on how to engage in climate change conversations with young people, conservative policymakers or people of faith.
How to Use This Resource: This archive of reports focus on climate change communication, and makes good reading for journalists. In addition, there’s a resource page on communicating climate impacts.
Climate Security 101
Overview: The Climate Security 101 site is a project of the policy institute, The Center for Climate and Security, researching how climate risks affect security. It also posts updates on climate security research and policy documents.
How to Use this Resource: This site’s database on climate change and security features primary documents organized into categories of sources: U.S. Government, intergovernmental bodies, think tanks, etc.
Quadrennial Defense Review
Overview: The U.S. Department of Defense serves as the principal defense policy advisor to the President and works under his direction. It embodies the United States military and a civilian force of thousands.
How to Use This Resource: This reports includes an in-depth analysis of climate change’s impact as a “threat multiplier” to national security, as well as a discussion of preparations and adaptation to climate change.
National Climate Assessment Report
Overview: The U.S. 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: This interactive report details public and private sector adaptation planning happening in the United States. Few adaptation plans have been implemented and several enact only incremental changes.
Forests and Land Use Database
Overview: ClimateWorks is a non-governmental organization of researchers, strategists, and grant-makers who lobby for climate action.
How to Use This Resource: ClimateWorks’ portfolios provide up-to-date data on clean energy initiatives and the effect of carbon emissions on forests across the globe.
National Climate Assessment NCANet Toolkit
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.
USDA Climate Hubs
Overview: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is the federal department responsible for developing and executing law on farming, agriculture, forestry, and food.
How to Use This Website: Each climate hub within this interactive map of the United States links to data on that region’s climate, as well as to practical information about climate resiliency and adaptation toolkits for farmers, ranchers and landowners.
Economic Aspects of Adaptation Research
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.
Climate and Disaster Resilience Initiatives
Overview: The United Nations Development Programme researches the climate disaster risk and energy policies of nations and finances resiliency efforts worldwide.
How to Use This Resource: Developing countries are both less able to cope with and more likely to be affected by extreme weather. This database provides information on what adaptation action is being taken by the United Nations Development Programme and where.
Research on Adaptation and Vulnerability Database
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.
Climate-Smart Planning Platform
Overview: The Climate-Smart Planning Platform, from the Climate Policy and Finance Department of the World Bank, assists developing country policymakers with low carbon growth and climate resilient development by connecting them to relevant tools, data, and knowledge.
How to Use This Website: Journalists can use this PDF to understand the challenges of planning for climate adaptation, to collect World Bank sources, and as a gateway to World Bank data on climate and weather data by region or sector.
Strategic Sustainability Performance and Adaptation Plans
Overview: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the Department of Defense agency responsible for investigating and maintaining the nation’s environmental resources.
How to Use This Resource: Journalists will find the most recent U.S. Army Corps of Engineers progress reports on its climate change risk assessment research, as well as video and other resources on climate resilience.
Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding: Strategy Stronger Communities, A Resilient Region
Overview: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Hurricane Sandy is a federal agency that oversees disaster relief funding and investment in resilient infrastructure.
How to Use This Resource: This report has extensive data on Hurricane Sandy’s impact on Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and the Shinnecock Indian Nation. It also clearly outlines the strategies federal government has taken and will take to repair and strengthen the coastline’s infrastructure.
A Stronger More Resilient New York
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)
Renewable Energy: Cutting Pollution, Creating Opportunity
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.
Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise Map
Overview: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce dedicated to the preservation of oceans and the atmosphere.
How to Use This Resource: This map provides clear data on where sea levels rising will have the largest impact in the United States. The data can be sorted by erosion rate, tide range and wave height.
Data Distribution Centre
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.
Hurricane Sandy Recovery Progress Report
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.
Cities and Flooding: A Guide to Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management
Overview: The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery is a World Bank organization assisting policymakers to prepare low-income countries for future climate change events.
How To Use This Resource: Journalists can mine this 200-page report for information on flood risk assessment and the development of low-risk infrastructure.