Climate Migration Readiness: Bridging Welcoming and Resilience

When? 2:00pm ET

As more people move in response to extreme weather and other climate impacts, local governments are beginning to think about what it will take to welcome and support the arrival of “climate migrants.”

Many communities don’t have to start from scratch: welcoming plans, immigrant affairs offices, community navigator networks, language access programs, and other systems built to welcome immigrants can also help communities prepare for climate-related migration. But that expertise doesn’t always sit with the teams responsible for climate planning and resilience.

At the same time, as more immigrants are disproportionately impacted by climate threats in their communities, immigrant affairs offices have much to learn from offices of sustainability and climate resilience.
Bringing immigrant affairs and climate resilience teams together can help communities build on what already exists, identify gaps, and prepare for future changes without creating parallel systems.

Through examples from local communities, this webinar will explore how existing immigrant welcoming and climate resilience efforts can support each other and their communities.

Note: This virtual session is a continuation of ICLEI USA and Welcoming America’s collaboration on sustainability and welcoming, and draws on learnings from last year’s in-person exchange. Learn more about ICLEI USA’s climate migration work at icleiusa.org/cohorts/climate-mobility-cohort-2026/. Learn more about Welcoming America’s climate migration work at climatemigrationtool.org.