Climate Resilience Collaborative Launched

The University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group, in partnership with nine community, non-profit, and university partners, is launching the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative.  

According to its website, the collaborative will advance climate adaptation efforts for frontline communities that have been excluded from spaces of power and are disproportionately affected by climate change.

The initiative will cover climate adaptation and resilience-building work in four states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) granted it five-year funding of $5.6 million.

Amy Snover, Climate Impacts Group Director, has this to say about the collaborative:

“Many incredible organizations across Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington are joining with the UW Climate Impacts Group to work toward a future where all people and communities can thrive. It is my hope that the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative will push the climate adaptation field toward equity and justice. I am proud that the Climate Impacts Group is helping to steward this shift, guided by the leadership of frontline communities, and I am honoured by the trust and collaboration from these community partners.”

The Resilience Collaborative will also work with coastal tribal communities to assess climate readiness among Northwest coastal tribes and accelerate tribal climate adaptation efforts.

According to the UW website:

“Projects led by the Collaborative will build climate resilience in rural communities and coastal tribal communities while leveraging the successes from these projects to inform policy and work in other regions. The Collaborative is innovative in the climate adaptation sciences and services fields for its community engagement model; explicit focus on community priorities, equity and justice; and for centering the voices of frontline communities in its effort.”

“Leaders and partners working in rural communities will study how rural values are reflected in climate adaptation priorities, the potential consequences of climate change for rural communities in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and economic strategies for implementing climate action. Collaborative members will work with farmworkers in the specialty fruit and vegetable crop industry to identify opportunities to prepare for the changing climate.”

To know more about the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, click the link below: