Guidelines, Tools, and Assessments

This tab includes tools and guides for how to conduct vulnerability assessments and develop adaptation plans with a focus on "frontline communities." It also includes vulnerability and risk assessments that consider socioeconomic factors along with climate risks. 

Resources are automatically presented by date. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by organization type of author, state, jurisdictional focus, region, or tool type.

 

 

54 results are shown below.

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Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: Summary for Policymakers - IPCC Working Group II Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5)

March 31, 2014

The most comprehensive assessment of scientific knowledge on global climate change to date, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) is being released in four parts between September 2013 and November 2014. The AR5 contains contributions from three Working Groups. Working Group I assesses the physical science basis of climate change, Working Group II assesses impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability, while Working Group III assesses the mitigation of climate change.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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The Impact of Climate Change on Work and Working People in Maryland: A Guide for Working People, Organized Labor and Climate Protection Advocates

2014

From the Labor Network for Sustainability, this is a study of the impact of climate change on work and working people in Maryland. The guide reviews existing climate impacts on the state, and provides strategic recommendations for supporting the workforce and green economy.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Climate and Health - Understanding the Risk: An Assessment of San Francisco’s Vulnerability to Extreme Heat Events

2013

The San Francisco Department of Public Health was awarded funding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct an environmental health assessment of vulnerability to heat waves and air quality. This report provides an overview of the health department’s study of heat distribution, and predictions of neighborhoods that are especially vulnerable to extreme heat in San Francisco, California. The assessment will inform climate change adaptation planning efforts including a heat wave disaster response plan.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Foundations for Community Climate Action: Defining Climate Change Vulnerability in Detroit

December 2012

The Detroit Climate Action Collaborative (DCAC) partnered with University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning to assess climate change vulnerability in Detroit, Michigan - and the results are presented in this report. A Vulnerability Assessment is included which identifies places and populations in Detroit that are at risk from specific climate impacts, with a focus on extreme heat and flooding. An overlay of the socio-economic demographics was added to help prioritize the populations that may experience the greatest vulnerability.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Kelly Gregg, Peter McGrath, Sarah Nowaczyk, Karen Spangler, Taylor Traub, Ben VanGessel

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Urban Risk Assessments: Understanding Disaster and Climate Risk in Cities

July 11, 2012

The World Bank produced this framework for conducting climate risk assessments to help cities plan for the impacts of climate change and natural disasters. The framework is intended for city decision makers, urban practitioners, and is fitting for use by public, private, and non-governmental entities. It is adaptable to cities of differing financial statuses, population size, hazard and institutional capacities.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Eric Dickson, Judy L. Baker, Daniel Hoornweg, Asmita Tiwari

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Social Vulnerability to Climate Change in California

July 2012

The objective of this project was to identify geographic areas within California with heightened risk to projected climate change impacts, to be applied as a guide to policymakers and affected communities on where to focus climate adaptation efforts. This study from the Pacific Institute addresses social vulnerability, or the susceptibility of a given community to harm, to climate change across the state. 

Authors or Affiliated Users: Heather Cooley, Eli Moore, Matthew Heberger, Lucy Allen

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Climate Change, Environmental Challenges and Vulnerable Communities: Assessing Legacies of the Past, Building Opportunities for the Future

February 2012

From the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, this report presents research on demographic, health and environmental data for Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. This research examines the effects of extreme weather events and climate-related challenges among vulnerable populations, and highlights opportunities for future adaptive actions, policies and priorities that incorporate social equity into their goals.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Climate Vulnerability Monitor

2012

The Climate Vulnerability Monitor (2nd Ed. ) measures the global impact of climate change and the carbon economy at a national level. It calculates and compares the vulnerability for 184 countries in four areas of impact (environmental disasters, habitat change, health impact and industry stress) using 34 climate and carbon related indicators. The report is the second to be issued by an ongoing international research program on climate-related vulnerability mandated to the independent humanitarian and development research organization, DARA.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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CRiSTAL: Community-based Risk Screening Tool- Adaptation and Livelihoods

2012

The Community-based Risk Screening Tool - Adaptation and Livelihoods (CRiSTAL) is a project planning tool designed to help integrate climate change adaptation and risk reduction into community-level projects. It is designed primarily for the international development community, but could be used in other contexts. It is currently available in English, French, and Spanish. 

Resource Category: Data and tools

 

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Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI)

The Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI), developed by the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina, is a publicly available tool for assessing social vulnerability. County-level socioeconomic and demographic data collected from 2006 to 2010 were used to construct the index of social vulnerability to environmental hazards for the United States.   

Resource Category: Data and tools

 

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