Communities across the U.S. are facing climate change impacts in the here and now that threaten critical infrastructure, livelihoods, and economic development. As more and more local governments are seeking resources and guidance to adapt to climate impacts already affecting their communities, we see that human-centered design processes lead to better outcomes.
In response to this growing necessity and interest from our members, ICLEI USA now offers a host of climate adaptation and resiliency services, including sector-specific training for local government capacity building, adaptation planning, inclusionary stakeholder engagement and activities that connect communities to climate science. Whether your local government plans to hire a consulting firm to prepare your climate adaptation plan or relies on internal resources, ICLEI’s assistance will yield a better result.
Engaging across agency departments and including both elected officials and staff, our adaptation services focus on establishing the internal knowledge and political will necessary to adapt to a changing climate and its extreme weather events. Moreover, we put equity at the center of our offerings in recognition that low-income residents, and socially and politically excluded communities bear a greater share of these impacts compared to others.
Although these Adaptation Services have been newly packaged and refined to best serve U.S. communities going forward, ICLEI USA has been working on adaptation and resilience for years. In Eugene, OR, our connection with the Thriving Earth Exchange program matched the City’s staff with a physicist who supported the development of a community-wide greenhouse gas emissions target. In Hayward, CA, our partnership on the Unite2Green program trained community members to be climate leaders. We are currently working with the City of San Diego and surrounding area cities to produce comprehensive vulnerability assessments in line with local government adaptation planning goals.
See our Adaptation Services brochure for a full list of offerings and rates (discounted for members). If you are interested in working with ICLEI USA on your community adaptation or resiliency planning, contact us at ICLEI-USA@ICLEI.org.
“San Diego County partnered with ICLEI USA to include climate change impacts into our County Multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. ICLEI provided dedicated and knowledgeable staff who assisted by connecting planners with local subject matter experts and scientists who advised on specific consequences to the San Diego region. They facilitated several community meetings to gather public input and provided a welldocumented final report that was incorporated into our revised plan verbatim.” — Holly Crawford, Director, County of San Diego OES