Prepare, Respond, Recover
Climate-induced disasters, such as wildfires, flooding, and hurricanes, are escalating in frequency and severity, exposing and exacerbating social and economic inequalities. The emergency management and response systems aimed at addressing these disasters—from healthcare to economic support, to legal protections—often fail to recognize these disparities. Instead of mitigating harm, disaster preparation and response policies can reinforce existing inequities and strip communities of the ability to recover.
Our Climate Disasters Initiative recognizes that climate disasters are not just an environmental problem — they are human rights flashpoints. To meet this challenge, the Climate Disasters Initiative engages in research aimed at transforming disaster preparedness and response systems. By exposing critical gaps and advancing blueprintable solutions, we are helping to build more just systems capable of responding to the human cost of our changing climate.
Community-Centered Research
We engage with direct service providers and communities disproportionately affected by climate-induced disasters to understand their perspectives and needs.
Policy and Legal Analysis
We evaluate how current laws and policies influence disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Based on this analysis, we recommend laws and policies to better protect the health, safety, economic livelihood, and self determination of vulnerable communities.
Education and Training
We train students to become the next generation of disaster researchers and advocates across a broad spectrum of professions and disciplines.
Featured Focus Area
Explore all our climate work
Our climate disaster recovery work stretches back to emergency response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Explore our full archive of climate-related projects, which includes our student investigations.
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