State Chief Resilience Officers: Establishment, Authority & Governance
As the human and financial toll of the climate crisis continues to climb, a growing number of jurisdictions are establishing a new role – the Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) – to lead pre-disaster planning and risk reduction efforts to build resilience to climate-fueled hazards. Released by the Georgetown Climate Center, State Chief Resilience Officers: Establishment, Authority & Governance explores the position and functioning of Chief Resilience Officers across 12 states and provides recommendations for states considering creating a CRO position.
A Chief Resilience Officer is typically responsible for coordinating climate resilience efforts across state agencies and jurisdictions, developing comprehensive resilience strategies, and ensuring that state investments and policies mitigate climate-related risks for as many people as possible. Unlike traditional emergency management roles, CROs focus primarily on pre-disaster planning and long-term resilience building rather than on the immediate response after a disaster occurs.
The report dives into the ways CRO positions can vary depending on how they were established, the scope of their responsibilities, and the authority and resources they have to work across agencies.
Among other takeaways, the report suggests that CROs should be granted substantial authority to coordinate effective adaptation strategies and secure sufficient and lasting funding, and that CROs are most effective when they have the ability to coordinate with other state agencies.
The report also makes recommendations for states considering implementing a CRO. These include giving CROs explicit authority to coordinate across multiple departments and direct access to funding and budget authority to meaningfully improve state climate resilience. It also suggests that the CRO position be structured in a way that insulates the CRO from political pressures, making climate resilience a nonpartisan priority.
The report concludes that Chief Resilience Officer positions can be pivotal in implementing long-term climate and extreme weather resilience, and that how these officers are established can make all the difference for states working to improve their climate resilience.
Publication Date: February 3, 2025
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