Georgetown Climate Center
The nonpartisan Georgetown Climate Center seeks to advance effective climate and energy policies in the United States and serves as a resource to state and local communities that are working to cut carbon pollution and prepare for climate change. As part of Georgetown Law, the Center works extensively with government officials, academics, and an array of stakeholders. It analyzes the provisions of federal policy relevant to state and local government, works with states on developing innovative new policies, and encourages policymakers to learn from state experience. The Georgetown Climate Center also developed, manages, and maintains the Adaptation Clearinghouse.
The Center informs the development of state and federal policies that:
- Reduce carbon pollution from power plants and stationary sources.
- Support clean and resilient transportation options.
- Help communities adapt to climate change.
Below are some of the organization's key adaptation projects:
- Developing and Maintaining the Adaptation Clearinghouse: The Center developed and maintains that Adaptation Clearinghouse a comprehensive database to inform the work of policymakers seeking to adapt to the impacts of climate change. We regularly partner with organizations, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, the American Society of Adaptation Professionals, the Federal Highway Administration and other organizations working on resilience and adaptation issues through this site.
- Preparing for Urban Heat Impacts: The Georgetown Climate Center works with state and local governments to develop “heat-smart” communities that are well prepared to cope with rising temperatures; to both help them identify the adaptation choices available and navigate through the legal obstacles they may face in trying to implement different options.
- Preparing for Sea-Level Rise and Flooding Impacts: The Center is working with state and local governments to help them become “coast-smart” — that is, better prepared to cope with the threats posed by rising sea levels and more extreme weather. We convene dialogues between states, local governments, and federal agencies to ensure that lessons learned on how to adapt our coastal communities are shared widely to inform future policies and actions.
- Preparing for Climate Change Impacts in the Transportation Sector – Every year, taxpayers pay hundreds of billions of dollars for transportation and related infrastructure—infrastructure that is becoming increasingly vulnerable to flooding and damage from extreme heat as a result of climate change. The Georgetown Climate Center regularly works with communities, states, and the federal government to document how policymakers at all levels of government are working to adapt transportation infrastructure and systems to a range of climate change impacts and at all stages of decisionmaking.
- Working with Cities to Improve Green Infrastructure: The Georgetown Climate Center is working with a group of local partners to identify the best green infrastructure practices that cities are beginning to experiment with and to translate these lessons into a toolkit in order to share the best practices with communities across the country.
- Federal Policy: The Georgetown Climate Center helps to inform federal policy by analyzing legal barriers that state and local governments are encountering as they take action to prepare for climate change; we also analyze existing federal programs that could be leveraged to support adaptation initiatives.
Phone: (202) 661-6566
Sectors:
Related Organizations:
- Georgetown Law University
- Harrison Institute
Related Resources:
- Understanding the Adaptation Provisions of the Sandy Disaster Relief Appropriations Act
- Reimagining New Orleans Post Katrina - A Case Study in Using Disaster Recovery Funds to Rebuild More Resiliently
- CCAP Meeting Summary: Green Resilience Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Synergies
- Georgetown Climate Center - Highlights from Federal Agency Adaptation Plans: Federal Strategies for Promoting and Removing Barriers to State, Local, and Tribal Adaptation
- Understanding New Jersey’s Vulnerability to Climate Change
- Indicators to Measure Progress in Promoting Sustainable Communities
- Stemming the Tide: How Local Governments Can Manage Rising Flood Risks
- The Great American Adaptation Roadtrip: Lessons learned about how hometowns across the United States are building their resilience to climate change
- The State of Adaptation in the United States: An Overview
- Climate Change Risk Information Disclosure, Insurance, the Private Sector, and the Role of Government
- Adapting to Urban Heat: A Tool Kit for Local Governments
- GCC: Rebuilding with Resilience - Lessons from the Rebuild by Design Competition After Hurricane Sandy
- Adaptation Case Studies in the Western United States
- Adaptation Toolkit: Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Land Use
- Vermont Culvert Rebuilding after Tropical Storm Irene
- GCC: Policy Considerations for the Maryland Commission on Climate Change
- Building Gulf Coast Resilience - Lessons from the Hurricane Sandy Recovery
- Opportunities for Equitable Adaptation in Cities: A Workshop Summary Report
- Lessons Learned From Irene: Climate Change, Federal Disaster Relief and Barriers to Adaptive Reconstruction
- Federal Funding Compendium for Urban Heat Adaptation
- Coastal Management in the Face of Rising Seas: Legal Strategies for Connecticut
- State Innovation on Climate Change: Reducing Emissions from Key Sectors While Preparing for a “New Normal” (GCC)
- Louisiana: Addressing Sea-Level Rise
- Washington DC: Targeting Urban Heat Islands
- Analysis of the Flood Insurance Reauthorization and Reform Law (2012)
- Safer and Stronger Cities: Strategies for Advocating for Federal Resilience Policy
- Preparing for Climate Impacts: Lessons Learned from the Front Lines - Georgetown Climate Center
- 20 Good Ideas for Promoting Resilience
- Case Studies in Floodplain Regulation
- Case Study on The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative
- A Guide to Community-Centered Engagement in the District of Columbia
- Climate Adaptation in the Agricultural Sector: Lessons from Vermont
- Georgetown Climate Center Green Infrastructure Toolkit
- Mainstreaming Sea Level Rise Preparedness in Local Planning and Policy on Maryland's Eastern Shore
- Case Study on The King County - Cities Climate Collaboration (K4C)
- Higher Standards: Opportunities for Enhancing Flood Resilience in the Eastern Shore of Maryland
- Preparing Our Communities for Climate Impacts: Recommendations for Federal Action (GCC)
- Case Study on The Sierra Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Partnership (Sierra CAMP)
- Case Study on The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact
- Austin, Texas: Preparing for Water Scarcity and Drought
- Lessons in Regional Resilience: Case Studies on Regional Climate Collaboratives
- Case Study on The Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC)
- Building Gulf Coast Resilience - Opportunities After Deepwater Horizon
- Minnesota Options to Increase Climate Resilience in Buildings
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