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This project will serve the 72 communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina that have recently received Community Disaster Resilience Zone (CDRZ) designations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Dr. Emily Powell from FSU and Carolyn Cox from UF will co-lead the Florida region along with several partners from UF-IFAS Extension and Sea Grant within the CDRZ communities.
Our partner organizations Georgia Conservancy, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities at Furman University, and the Florida Climate Institute will establish Navigators to serve as trusted partners for CDRZ communities in their state. These Navigators will work directly with CDRZ communities to help them identify and take advantage of funding sources and capacity building opportunities, and secure technical support necessary to develop strategies that lead to tangible resilience benefits. Additionally, Project IN-CORE and Resilient Cities Catalyst will offer direct technical support to communities across the four states.
In addition to supporting CDRZ communities, this project serves as a Climate Ready America demonstration project and supports planning for the Georgia Climate Innovation Center. This project also serves a larger role within the climate resilience field by developing a measurement and evaluation framework, led by EcoAdapt, that can be used by organizations helping CDRZ communities nationwide.
We are continuing to work with federal agencies, philanthropies, and the corporate sector to build a national network of Navigators to support CDRZ communities in all states and territories. Our goal is to have this network of climate services for CDRZ communities serve as the foundation for the Climate Ready America initiative.
The effects of a rapidly warming climate are being felt in every corner of the US and will worsen over the next 10 years with continued fossil fuel use, according to a stark new report from federal agencies. The Assessment evaluates climate impacts across 10 U.S. regions and a wide range of interests, including water, forests and ecosystems, coasts and oceans, agriculture and rural communities, the built environment, energy and transportation, health and air quality, and economic and social systems.
You can find a report overview, figures, and the full report itself on the NCA 2023 website.
A new video shares the most up-to-date sea level rise projections for the United States, and encourages viewers to take some initial steps. The video highlights key takeaways from the 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report, with a focus on the impacts on coastal communities. Viewers are encouraged to consider actions they can take within their communities, and directed to existing web tools for assessing the timing and severity of local impacts from sea level rise.
A team of scientists found that carbon dioxide becomes a more potent greenhouse gas as more is released into the atmosphere.
The new study, led by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, Science, was published in Science and comes as world leaders meet in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, this week for the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28.
Congratulations to Dr. Brett Scheffers, Assistant Professor in the UF Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, who has been named Florida Climate Institute Co-Director! Along with Dr. Sadie Ryan, Brett will co-lead the Florida Climate Institute at UF starting November 1. Many thanks to Dr. Rachata Muneepeerakul for his leadership over the past 3 years as the FCI has continued to grow and add programs.
Read more about Dr. Scheffers here
The Florida Climate Institute (FCI) is a multi-disciplinary network of national and international research and public organizations, scientists, and individuals concerned with achieving a better understanding of climate variability and change.