Connecting public, private and federal leaders for climate-ready communities
Connecting public, private and federal leaders for climate-ready communities
The Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator supports neighboring local and regional jurisdictions and advances their climate and economic resilience by addressing critical climate hazards, engaging vulnerable communities, activating private sector leaders, and identifying policy and economic development opportunities. The Accelerator galvanizes regional partnerships and networks, engages business leaders, connects local communities to federal and private sector resources, and elevates local policy needs to federal lawmakers over a period of 1–2 years.
The Accelerator kicks off with a Resilient Economies Roundtable, followed by a curated Federal Resource Connector Forum and ongoing engagement to advance local action and elevate local needs to a federal audience.
C2ES launched the first Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator in the North Front Range of Colorado, a region spanning Fort Collins and Denver and home to a diverse and bustling economy. However, the area’s wildfire and extreme heat risks are intensifying under climate change, presenting significant risks across the region, in particular to vulnerable communities.
The Accelerator builds on and complements existing climate resilience programs in the region. C2ES, in partnership Colorado State University Climate Adaptation Partnership, hosted two convenings in 2023—a Climate Resilient Economies Roundtable in October and a Resources Connector Forum in November—to connect communities and businesses to each other and help expand the pool of potential partners, including economic development groups, community-based organizations, NGOs, and state and federal agencies.
Through the Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator convenings, a diverse set of regional leaders convened to identify seven key action areas to advance the region’s resilience to wildfire and heat.
C2ES developed a Summary Report to capture the 2023 Accelerator convenings and process, including stakeholder engagement, current and projected wildfire and heat impacts, the shared regional vision for a prosperous future, key action areas for resilience, and opportunities to accelerate progress in the action areas.
Through the Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator, public, private, and community stakeholders are outlining a path forward for coordinated efforts in the region. In 2024, C2ES will focus on a subset of the Key Action Areas to drive progress and will share insights and lessons gained from the Accelerator convenings to cultivate broader awareness, alignment, and action across the region. We will explore federal grant opportunities and policy needs that could advance these efforts in the North Front Range and beyond.
The C2ES Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator was launched with generous support from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.
What is the overall timeline and process for the program?
The Accelerator is designed as a 2-year program. The first year focuses on regional engagement and convenings to level-set participants on climate hazards, identify opportunities to accelerate resilience action, and connect with federal and private sector resources. The second year seeks to build greater momentum around 1-2 action areas with a focus on policy innovation and activating collaboration. C2ES hosted convenings in 2023 in the North Front Range of Colorado and is continuing efforts in 2024 as we identify where to launch the next Accelerator.
Who should participate in the Accelerator?
C2ES will invite senior-level representatives with decision-making authorities from public and private-sector and key non-profit and community organizations across the region to facilitate the acceleration of existing efforts and the development of new commitments. These leaders will represent their organizations in high-level convenings alongside resilience practitioners, technical experts, federal agency staff, and community stakeholders.
What is required of participants?
C2ES seeks to support and engage regional participants who are open to new ideas, solutions, and collaboration. Participating organizations are highly encouraged to consider and define tangible opportunities to enhance their own approaches and commitments and explore ways to support and complement other resilience efforts in the region. C2ES expects that each convening will constitute a full day of activities. In addition, C2ES will engage participants at several points outside of the meetings to understand organizational goals, share relevant information, and gather insights and feedback to support productive convenings.