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:
This case study examines the challenges encountered by Vermont localities in trying to use federal disaster relief funds to rebuild their transportation system to be more resilient to future impacts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.
December 20, 2013
Federal Funding Compendium for Urban Heat Adaptation
This compendium collects and analyzes federal programs with potential to pay for state and local government adaptation to urban heat islands.
December 20, 2013
Case Studies in Floodplain Regulation
This Georgetown Law student report highlights the efforts of two communities to strengthen regulations after catastrophic flood events: Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Waveland, Mississippi. These case studies discuss the regulatory reforms the communities implemented and the lessons that can be learned from their experience.
May 30, 2013
Understanding the Adaptation Provisions of the Sandy Disaster Relief Appropriations Act (H.R. 152)
Disaster relief funding presents an opportunity for state and local governments to rebuild in a manner that anticipates and responds to future changes in the climate. In most cases, programs funded through disaster relief appropriations, such as the Sandy Relief Act, provide administering agencies with enough authority to prepare for climate changes during the rebuilding process.
As part of a Georgetown Climate Center analysis of the Sandy Relief Act, the Center has identified the opportunities below to use direct disaster relief funds for adaptive projects that help communities prepare for future climate change impacts.
May 24, 2013
The State of Adaptation in the United States: An Overview
The State of Adaptation in the United States surveys activities underway to help communities prepare for climate change and identifies needs, challenges, and potential actions that communities can now pursue. The report was commissioned by the MacArthur Foundation and was undertaken by the Georgetown Climate Center, EcoAdapt, the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington, and the University of California-Davis.
April 4, 2013
To help local communities address the increased flooding expected from sea-level rise and more frequent extreme weather events, the Georgetown Climate Center designed a model sea-level rise ordinance to provide local governments with a template for tailoring regulations to meet the needs of their community and its particularized vulnerabilities.
December 13, 2012
Adaptation Tool Kit: Urban Heat
"Adapting to Urban Heat: A Tool Kit for Local Governments" is designed to help local governments reduce the effects of increased heat on their communities and citizens. It provides an analytic tool for policy makers to consider a combination of four built-environment changes (cool roofs, green roofs, cool pavements, and urban forestry), providing clear criteria for selecting among these approaches. It also examines the roles government can play in pursuing these changes: shaping government’s own operations, mandating or providing incentives for private choices, and engaging in public education.
August 17, 2012
Coastal Management in the Face of Rising Seas: Legal Strategies for Connecticut
This article examines two adaptation approaches that could be applied in Connecticut: a local-?level approach using zoning and floodplain regulations, and state-?level approach modeled after cutting-?edge sea level rise regulations adopted by neighboring Rhode Island. For each method, the authors examine what measures can be implemented now given existing legal authorities delegated to state agencies and municipalities; what measures will require additional delegations or amendments to existing statutes or regulations; and what level of government is best suited to implement different measures (state or local).
August 2, 2012
Analysis of the Flood Insurance Reauthorization and Reform Law (2012)
The Georgetown Climate Center's Jessica Grannis recently released a summary and analysis of Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, which includes several reforms that could assist state and local governments looking to implement policies to adapt to sea-level rise and other flood impacts from climate changes.
August 1, 2012
Innovative Approaches for Adapting to Water Variability in the West
This brief reviews three approaches that communities are pursuing to adapt to climate change.
May 1, 2012
