News & Updates

CSCI Awards More Than $1 Million to 11 Communities

By Douglas Meyer •

Map of awarded communities

The Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) today announced its first round of awards, with more than $1 million going to help 11 communities on the front lines of the climate crisis. The awards, which include funding, technical support, and additional resources, will enable each of the selected communities to accelerate a climate resilience plan or project through a collaborative process that involves local officials and community representatives working alongside a climate adaptation expert. The awardees also will help the CSCI identify best practices, develop replicable approaches, and establish common metrics to accelerate learning from resilience efforts across the country.

“The United States is having another unprecedented year of extreme weather events including record-breaking summer heat, yet, under those headlines, there also are reasons for hope,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “The Climate Smart Communities Initiative exemplifies the way in which communities across the country are coming together to develop pragmatic plans and innovative actions that effectively address their climate challenges, and doing so with an important emphasis on assisting our most vulnerable communities.”  

The CSCI is managed by a consortium of partners, including the Climate Resilience Fund, EcoAdapt, Fernleaf, Geos Institute, ICF, and the Environment, Equity and Justice Center at NRDC, working closely with the NOAA Climate Program Office. The initiative is made possible by funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, and is part of NOAA’s efforts to help American communities prepare, adapt and build resilience to weather and climate events.

“Supporting locally led efforts to build climate resilience, sharing experiences and developing expertise, is exactly what the Climate Smart Communities Initiative is designed to do,” added John Nordgren, Managing Director of the Climate Resilience Fund, the lead partner in the CSCI. “These grants will enable awarded communities to work with an adaptation expert to develop a plan or project that is based on the latest scientific data, addresses their most pressing needs, and incorporates the concerns of their constituents.” 

The 11 communities receiving awards are as follows.

  • Brentwood, Maryland – An award of $50,707 to advance projects identified as priorities in their Climate Action Plan, engage and empower community members, and explore the use of green infrastructure to address flooding risks in the neighborhoods most in need.
  • Charleston County, South Carolina- An award of $121,821 to enable a systematic approach to flood mitigation investments and catalyze climate-smart community revitalization through brownfields redevelopment.
  • Cook County, Illinois – An award of $115,516 to allow five Cook County communities to evaluate resilience measures and help historically underserved populations adapt to the impacts of flooding and excessive heat.
  • Coushatta Tribe, Louisiana  – An award of $80,089 to revise the climate vulnerability assessment, solicit community input, and draft a corresponding climate resilience plan in a community that is increasingly vulnerable to climate related impacts, including flash flooding, extreme heat, and wildfires.   
  • East Palo Alto, California – An award of $115,000 to engage with and uplift a community facing challenges related to a changing climate, including sunny day flooding from rising seas, and poor air quality from more intense wildfires.
  • Fremont, Nebraska – An award of $114,978 to focus on the families that live in mobile and manufactured homes on the southwest side of the city, which increasingly are at risk from intense storms, ice jams, and flash flooding, and could benefit from improved flood management and infrastructure.
  • Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, Louisiana – An award of $122,000 to create a community resilience plan with goals and approaches that incorporate the lived experience of local residents and the traditional ecological knowledge of the Tribe.
  • Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, South Dakota – An award of $121,400 to develop a climate resilience plan that addresses the increasing threat of drought, flood, and wildfire, while staying rooted in the Tribe’s principles of respect, inclusivity, and collaboration.
  • Ottawa County, Oklahoma – An award of $119,000 to engage the local community, conduct a vulnerability analysis, and develop a corresponding climate resilience plan and pilot project in a community that is now experiencing the pain of various climate related impacts, including severe storms and toxic flooding.
  • Sandpoint, Idaho – An award of $122,629 to the Model Forest Policy Program will enable development  of a climate resilience plan with effective, durable, and fundable strategies in this community where extreme weather conditions and temperature fluctuations now threaten the forests, lakes, and streams that provide the foundation for a recreation-based economy.
  • South San Francisco, California – An award of $95,000 to facilitate the implementation of a tree canopy project to provide frontline communities with climate resilience education and solutions to combat urban heat and pollution.

Additional information about each of their efforts can be found here. 

Priority for this round of awards was given to communities that had a higher relative level of climate risk, based on environmental, as well as social and economic considerations; and already were connected with an adaptation professional who had been trained in the Steps to Resilience framework. 

“Communities across the country have faced the convergence of disinvestment in addition to worsening climate and health impacts,” said Marissa Ramirez, Senior Director for Strategy, Planning and Operations at the Environment, Equity and Justice Center of NRDC. “Those joining this cohort include tribal, rural and communities of color, and they also are on the leading edge of implementing solutions that are equitable, resilient, and putting people at the forefront.”

“In addition to supporting vulnerable communities, Climate Smart Communities Initiative is also strengthening our much needed climate adaptation workforce by providing professional development, sustaining and expanding technical resources, and streamlining expert support,” said Lara Hansen, Ph.D., Chief Scientist & Executive Director of EcoAdapt. “Scaling up the climate adaptation workforce is essential to address the climate crisis.”

“The best climate resilience solutions are community-driven and address the climate impacts the community cares about most,” said Tonya Graham, Executive Director of the Geos Institute. ”By matching skilled practitioners with communities that are ready to build resilience, the initiative is making a big difference for local leaders who are working to protect their residents in at-risk communities.” 

The next opportunity for a community to apply for funding is expected in the fall of 2024, while many other resources are already available or being developed. Those resources will include the creation of a searchable registry of adaptation professionals who are willing and able to assist communities with plans and projects; the expansion of workforce development training in the Steps to Resilience framework; and the launch of an online “knowledge sharing platform” with project resources and a help desk. Additional information about the initiative and the awardee communities can be found at www.climatesmartcommunity.org.

Interested local officials, community representatives, and adaptation professionals are encouraged to follow CSCI on LinkedIn, or join the CSCI mailing list.