Colorado is at the frontlines of climate change impacts, including growing wildfire and heat hazards. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) launched the first regional Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator (Accelerator) in 2023 to support communities and businesses that operate in the North Front Range of Colorado prepare for these impacts.

Through the Accelerator’s 2023 convenings, a diverse set of leaders identified and explored seven Key Action Areas to advance the North Front Range’s resilience to wildfire and heat. These areas cover a range of crucial resilience components and can serve as a roadmap moving forward.

The 2023 Accelerator convenings—a Climate Resilient Economies Roundtable in October and a Resources Connector Forum in November—connected communities and businesses to each other and helped expand the pool of potential partners, including economic development groups, community-based organizations, nonprofits, and state and federal agencies. The discussions were designed to augment local resilience efforts by uncovering strategies that can reduce the impacts of more than one climate hazard and will require action from a broad range of actors to succeed.

This brief captures discussions from 2023 convenings, including the stakeholder engagement process, current and projected wildfire and heat impacts, the shared regional vision for a prosperous future, key action areas for resilience, and opportunities and resources to accelerate resilience action.

C2ES launched the 2023 Accelerator in partnership with the Colorado State University (CSU) Climate Adaptation Partnership and with the generous support of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

More on C2ES’s work in the North Front Range

• Blog: 7 key action areas emerge for wildfire, heat resilience on Colorado’s North Front Range
• Read more about the C2ES Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator here.

The post Accelerating Resilience: Wildfire and Heat Strategies for Colorado’s North Front Range appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Communities across the country are already feeling the financial impacts of climate change. Recognizing the costs of climate-related damages, municipal bond investors are beginning to assess physical climate risk in portfolio management. These changes are shifting the conventional wisdom of municipal credit, where strong economies and balance sheets are now also being weighed against vulnerability to acute and chronic climate risks.

While local governments can take measures to adapt to potential climate-related pressures, little guidance exists for financial officers responsible for long-term financial planning and interacting with municipal markets. Moreover, the limits of adaptation and credit evaluation are unclear as the new paradigm for climate risk evaluation emerges. Building on the novel work of C2ES and the diligence of the Vermont Bond Bank, this webinar will explore how municipalities are feeling the financial impacts of climate change, as well as how these analyses can create positive feedback loops to help communities adapt for the future.

Speakers will outline the physical climate risk analysis landscape, how local governments can integrate climate risks and opportunities into financial decision-making, and how investors are beginning to evaluate climate risk. The speakers will then discuss what steps can be taken to position communities and bond issuers for success in this changing time.

The post The Resilience Factor: How investors assess climate-ready governments appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

This webinar will explore the various technologies and strategies that can be used to modernize the grid and improve climate resilience, those technologies at scale, and policy mechanisms and steps that can accelerate their adoption.

The post Climate-Proofing the Grid: Strategies for Grid Modernization and Climate Resilience appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

This brief, An Emerging Blueprint for Companies: Strategies to Advance Local Climate Resilience, outlines how corporate resources, funding, and expertise can make a difference.

It identifies seven leadership strategies that companies are already using to help communities across the country assess climate risks, build local capacity, and accelerate resilience projects.

Corporate Strategies to Advance Community Climate Resilience

Click to download this and other graphics in this brief.

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During this webinar hosted by the Alliance for a Sustainable Future, a joint effort of the US Conference of Mayors and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Mayor Brad Cavanagh of Dubuque, Iowa, and his team will share lessons and strategies to successfully fund a comprehensive flood mitigation effort. Chief among these strategies is “stacking” various federal funding sources with state and local resources to implement a multi-faceted plan that integrates green and grey infrastructure solutions for maximum benefit. This strategy is featured in the Alliance for a Sustainable Future publication, “Cities Advancing Climate Action: Federal Funds for Local Impact,” in which a variety of other funding strategies for maximizing impact is explored.

Drawing on Dubuque’s approach as inspiration, this webinar will also feature representatives from key federal agencies and engineering firm AECOM to highlight the new and existing resources that local governments can leverage in accelerating climate-smart investments in their own communities.

The post Tackling Flood Mitigation with Federal Resources: Best Practices for Community Resilience appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.