Resilience and Climate Action Go Hand-in-Hand
written by Diane Ernst
“Climate change is more than parts per million and greenhouse gases. The people who are feeling the worst impacts of climate [change], their voices have got to be heard.”
The word ‘resilient’ has been used more and more these days, especially throughout the pandemic. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines resilience as being: “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions” or “capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture.” Planning for community resilience is critical in the fight against climate change; however, many communities lack the knowledge and understanding of how to tie resiliency into their climate action planning.
Climate change is an urgent challenge that requires us to develop capacity for resilience and innovation. In Colorado, we recently suffered record wildfires that impacted infrastructure and local watersheds. The past five years have been the hottest on record in places all over the United States. Many states have also experienced extreme flooding that has killed people and destroyed homes, businesses, and public infrastructure. Various climate researchers state that we should expect more of this in the future. Understanding and planning for these potential hazards or stressors are critical in making communities more resilient and should be integrated into climate action planning.
Today, combating the impacts of climate change is more than just reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Now is the time for communities to look at climate action more holistically. When developing climate action strategies for your community, it is integral to zoom out and look at the whole community to understand local impacts climate change can have on specific areas and people. Studies show that climate change disproportionately affects low-income communities and people of color.
For example:
Studies have shown that urban heat islands impact low-income communities and people of color at higher rates.
Climate crisis will triple flooding threats for low-income US homes by 2050.
Study’s show disproportionate impacts of wildfire among elderly and low-income communities.
What Can We Do About It?
Assessing vulnerabilities throughout the climate action planning process ensures that projects and related activities will reduce climate change impacts in communities. It is necessary to conduct vulnerability and risk assessments to understand which people and areas are most at risk and why. This process will create equitable plans and enable the development of policies that ensure the communities most burdened by the impacts of climate change have their voices heard and will be served first. This process integrates people within the process, allowing community members to see the direct effects of climate change and what they can do about it. Many resources are out there to assist communities in assessing risk and vulnerability to become more resilient against climate change. Below are excellent resources to get you started.
Colorado Resiliency Office
This new website has various story maps and toolkits to help walk you through pre-and post-recovery efforts. It also has case studies and a peer exchange platform to engage with other communities in Colorado doing similar work. Check it out by clicking here.
Climate Change Vulnerability and Risk Guide
This comprehensive guide focuses on the processes needed to develop vulnerability assessments at the community-level with the ultimate goal of promoting actions that increase resilience and adaptive capacity. Four phases will be presented to guide the process: (1) Preparing for the Vulnerability and Risk Assessment and Action Plan; (2) The Vulnerability and Risk Assessment; (3) The Action Plan; and (4) Planning and designing the implementation. Read the full document by clicking here.