Accelerating Local Climate Resilience: Building the Case for Strong Federal Support

Communities across the United States are facing catastrophic extreme weather events, including stronger hurricanes, longer and hotter heat waves, record-breaking drought, sea level rise, and severe wildfires that are only growing in intensity and frequency. Improved climate resilience can help alleviate the growing impact of these events on public health, households, and infrastructure. Recent executive actions by the Biden Administration and pending legislative actions by Congress represent significant steps forward in helping communities prepare for the impacts of climate change and transforming the United States’ approach to resilience. Continued action will be needed to support communities in meeting the challenges ahead.

In this webinar, experts will discuss the needs and opportunities for local climate resilience and actions that the federal government can take to better support resilient improvements in communities across the country. C2ES will also provide an overview of our forthcoming brief outlining recommendations for federal resilience policy.

Keynote Presentation

Krystal Laymon
Deputy Director for Climate Resilience, White House Council on Environmental Quality

Panelists

Anna McGinn
Policy Manager, Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)
Lisa McNeilly
Director of Sustainability, City of Baltimore
Colin Wellenkamp
Executive Director, Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative
Laura Brush — Moderator
Resilience Fellow, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions