View and download reports, presentations and other documents produced by the Georgetown Climate Center and the initiatives it facilitates. View documents by subject using the tabs below:
Washington, DC: Targeting Urban Heat Islands
This case study discusses the District’s efforts to reduce urban heat islands by making grants to pilot the use of cool roofs, implementing the Smart Roof Initiative to retrofit District-owned buildings, and adopting of a new Green Building Code.
August 19, 2015
Hong Kong: Improving Coastal Resilience and Managing Urban Heat
This case study examines how Hong Kong is responding to urban heat islands and increased flooding by expanding the urban tree canopy, deploying an extreme heat warning system, building sea walls with sea-level rise in mind, and using vegetation to prevent landslides.
August 19, 2015
From Planning to Action: Implementation of State Climate Change Adaptation Plans
Georgetown Climate Center published this article in the Michigan Journal of Sustainability (Vol. 3, Spring 2015) summarizing what can be learned about the progress states are making in implementing their comprehensive state-wide adaptation plans. In 2014, the Center launched an online tool that helps users track adaptation efforts at the state level and the progress states are making in implementing their adaptation plans. The Center's Aaron Ray and Jessica Grannis published this article to provide an empirical assessment of state progress based upon the Center's research developing this tool.
April 1, 2015
Understanding Virginia's Vulnerability to Climate Change
Communities across Virginia are increasingly vulnerable to severe weather influenced by changes in our climate. Population centers near the coast and tidal rivers are experiencing more flooding, farmers are increasingly contending with drought risks, and health problems are likely to be exacerbated by extreme heat and polluted air. Solutions to manage these risks exist, and implementing them will make our communities more resilient to the new conditions and challenges of our changing climate.
February 17, 2015
The Great American Adaptation Road Trip
After visiting more than 30 communities across the U.S. that are preparing for climate change, two enterprising authors identify 6 big lessons from ongoing adaptation work in this report by the Georgetown Climate Center. The lessons in the “The Great American Adaptation Road Trip,” explain why these communities have had success implementing their projects and what is needed to prompt climate change preparation in more places across the country. Authors Allie Goldstein and Kirsten Howard distilled the lessons learned on their trip after meeting with more than 150 individuals who were driving adaptation projects forward in their communities, from shellfish farmers on the Olympic Peninsula to city planners in Baltimore.
January 26, 2015
Highlights from Federal Agency Adaptation Plans
Federal agencies released updated adaptation and sustainability plans on October 31, 2014. The updated plans build and improve upon the first phase of adaptation plans released in 2013. For the first time, the plans include discussion of how agencies can leverage existing federal programs to better support and remove barriers to state, local, and tribal adaptation efforts.
The Georgetown Climate Center has developed this detailed summary of federal agency adaptation plans. Many of the actions identified by the federal agencies in their adaptation plans also echo recommendations identified by the Climate Center in its recent report, Preparing Our Communities for Climate Impacts: Recommendations for Federal Action.
December 2, 2014
Preparing Our Communities for Climate Impacts: Recommendations for Federal Action
The Georgetown Climate Center released 100 recommendations today to improve federal programs that could be used to prepare for climate change. The new report will inform the White House State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience.
The report draws from a series of workshops with leading federal, state and local officials and builds upon lessons learned post-disaster in New Orleans (following Hurricane Katrina), New York (following Hurricane Sandy) and Vermont (after Hurricane Irene). The report identifies more than 30 federal programs, initiatives and laws that can be used to prepare for extreme events such as storms, floods and heat waves as well as rising seas.
September 4, 2014
Preparing for Climate Impacts: Lessons Learned from the Front Lines
In this synthesis report to the Kresge Foundation, the Georgetown Climate Center shares some of the lessons learned from its adaptation work in recent years and includes a number of short case studies highlighting successful efforts and barriers to change.
July 9, 2014
20 Good Ideas for Promoting Climate Resilience
The 20 ideas contained in this document represent a collection of planning, funding, regulatory, and investment efforts already taking place in different U.S. states and localities to prepare for and reduce the risks of climate change. These ideas offer insights and lessons for all communities to learn from and build upon in developing their own responses to a changing climate.
June 20, 2014
Understanding New Jersey's Vulnerability to Climate Change
New Jersey residents are no strangers to the escalating impacts of climate change. Rising sea levels mean future hurricanes will produce more severe damage, such as the damage produced by Hurricane Sandy. More frequent extreme weather events, heat waves, and inland flooding from heavier rains also present a growing challenge to the region's economy, environment, and everyday way of life.
February 5, 2014
