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USING PUBLIC DATA PLATFORMS TO ASSESS DEFORESTATION RISKS WITHIN JURISDICTIONS
The paper introduces the Jurisdictional Risk Assessment (JRA), a tool developed by WWF-US and Global Forest Watch to quantify deforestation risks in Indonesia. By analyzing four 'Key Forest Areas'—Primary Forests, Protected Areas, Peatland, and Forest Estate—the JRA uses indicators such as forest loss percentages, fire density, and overlap with government palm oil concessions to score district-level risk. Findings indicate that while most districts lost up to 10% of primary forest between 2009 and 2012, a small number experienced losses up to 50%. The authors caution that the JRA is a partial assessment based on remote sensing and should complement, not replace, field validation and social data.
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Document type: Research paper
Building a Climate-Resilient City: Transportation infrastructure
The document outlines how urban transportation infrastructure in Alberta is vulnerable to rising temperatures and extreme weather, such as flooding and heat waves. It argues that resilience can be achieved through 'robustness' (using tools like the PIEVC protocol and green infrastructure), 'redundancy' (diversifying transportation modes and fuel sources), and 'resourcefulness' (engaging citizens via mobile apps and supporting shared mobility). The briefing recommends that Calgary and Edmonton undertake full vulnerability assessments, promote compact urban forms, and implement multi-modal networks to mitigate climate risks.
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Document type: Briefing
Building a Climate-Resilient City
The document argues that Alberta's cities must move beyond historical climatic patterns to build resilience against more frequent and intense extreme weather events. It emphasizes integrating climate projections into emergency planning, investing in robust and redundant infrastructure, and fostering community resourcefulness through participatory engagement.
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Document type: Briefing
Guatemala
Guatemala faces severe ecological and societal challenges, including multiyear droughts and a lack of centralized water governance, which exacerbate poverty and food insecurity. These conditions, combined with rampant corruption and violence, drive migration toward the U.S. border. The document argues that the U.S. should leverage strategic frameworks like CARSI and the Alliance for Prosperity to support Guatemala's institutional reform and the development of a comprehensive legal framework for water governance to mitigate these security risks.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Himalayas WATER-ENERGY NEXUS IN THE
The region at the base of the Himalayas is experiencing extreme climate volatility, with record-setting floods and severe droughts disrupting both water and energy security. India's power grid relies heavily on water-intensive coal and hydropower, leading to chronic electricity shortages when water is scarce and infrastructure damage during floods. These challenges have triggered rural-to-urban migration, civil unrest, and farmer suicides. To mitigate these risks, the document recommends that India shift toward wind and solar energy and suggests the U.S. provide financial and technical support through initiatives like the U.S.-India Clean Energy Finance Scheme.
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Document type: Executive summary
Mindanao, Philippines BUILDING RESILIENCE FOR PEACE: WATER, SECURITY, AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS IN
The document analyzes how ecological challenges, such as severe droughts and storms, exacerbate social instability and violent conflict in Mindanao, Philippines. It highlights the displacement of millions due to both climate events and conflict, which creates opportunities for terrorist groups like ISIS to establish footholds. The text emphasizes the geostrategic importance of the region to the United States and recommends that U.S. policy support water-related programs and collaborative governance to build climate resilience and promote peace.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Water, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy
The executive summary outlines how water-driven stresses—caused by both human mismanagement and climate change—undermine governance and livelihoods, leading to migration, conflict, and the rise of insurgencies, which in turn destabilize U.S. foreign interests.
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Document type: Executive summary
Pakistan THE PERILS OF DENIAL: CHALLENGES FOR A WATER-SECURE
Pakistan faces a severe water security crisis driven by its reliance on transboundary freshwater sources, climate change, and poor management, with predictions of absolute water scarcity by 2025. This insecurity manifests as declining agricultural productivity, public health crises due to contaminated water, and social unrest in cities like Karachi. The document highlights that these vulnerabilities, alongside tensions with India over the Indus Basin Water Treaty, create fertile ground for insurgency and instability, thereby increasing risks to U.S. foreign policy and security interests. It recommends that the U.S. provide technical support for groundwater monitoring, facilitate water pricing systems, and promote soft engineering solutions like wetlands.
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Document type: Executive summary
ClientEarth Investor Briefing
The document argues that a shift in US climate policy under Donald Trump increases financial risks for investors and businesses, regardless of whether the US formally withdraws from the Paris Agreement. It identifies three primary risk categories: physical risks from increased global emissions, transition risks as the global shift to a low-carbon economy continues, and policy/legal risks including unpredictable litigation. The briefing concludes by recommending that the business community publicly pressure the US administration to maintain its climate commitments and stay in the Paris Agreement.
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Document type: Briefing
Climate Change in the Snow Leopard Landscapes of Asia’s High Mountains
The report projects warming across all six studied snow leopard landscapes in Central Asia, with varying seasonal precipitation changes. Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan are expected to experience winter warming and wetter monsoons, while South Gobi and Central Tienshan/Sarychat will see summer warming and minimal precipitation increases. The Karakoram-Pamir region is projected to have consistent warming and increased winter precipitation. These shifts are expected to exacerbate risks to snow leopards, including habitat fragmentation, shifting tree lines, and increased human-wildlife conflict.
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Document type: Report
Disaster Risks to Infrastructure in El Salvador
The document outlines a multi-hazard study funded by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network for the Government of El Salvador, which modeled nearly 100 hazard scenarios affecting critical infrastructure. The study found that the long-term average annual loss to analyzed infrastructure is estimated at US$35.5 million, with earthquakes and floods accounting for nearly 80% of these losses and schools identified as the infrastructure type most at risk. The brief recommends using these estimates to prioritize retrofits, integrating results into local planning, expanding risk metrics, analyzing climate change impacts on specific hazards, and improving inter-ministerial collaboration.
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Document type: Policy brief
Climate Change Adaptation and Resiliency for the Health Care Sector
The report argues that climate change poses a significant threat to public health and the delivery of health services in Canada, necessitating a shift toward resilient infrastructure and sustainable practices. It highlights that Canadian hospitals are among the most energy-inefficient in OECD northern climates and face risks from extreme weather, particularly in northern and coastal areas. The document recommends investing in renewable energy, implementing Green Revolving Funds, and conducting climate resiliency assessments. It also suggests leveraging the trusted status of health professionals to drive public behavior change and utilizing institutional lands for ecosystem services to improve public well-being.
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Document type: Report
Enhancing Coastal Resilience Against Climate Change
The document proposes a four-year programme (2017-2021) to enhance coastal resilience in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It targets the most vulnerable populations, particularly women and the poor, through a grants-on-lending framework focusing on coastal protection, food and water security, health, renewable energy, and tourism. The programme aims to fund at least 20 local investment projects with individual grants ranging from USD 300,000 to USD 600,000, requiring a 20% counterpart contribution from grantees. The initiative emphasizes ecosystem-based adaptation, such as mangrove rehabilitation and coral reef restoration, to mitigate the impacts of sea-level rise and extreme weather events which have historically caused severe GDP losses in the region.
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Document type: Report
The risks of relying on tomorrow’s ‘negative emissions’ to guide today’s mitigation action
The paper argues that relying on future large-scale negative emissions to 'undo' current carbon emissions is a high-risk strategy that may lead to insufficient near-term decarbonization. It identifies three primary risk types: technological/biophysical infeasibility, unacceptable social and ecological impacts, and the potential for sequestered carbon to be re-released or for climate impacts to become irreversible. The authors evaluate four land-based options, concluding that while ecosystem restoration and reforestation may provide some viable negative emissions, high-reliance scenarios (e.g., those requiring 1,000 Gt CO2) are likely unachievable. BECCS is highlighted as particularly risky due to unproven commercial scale and extreme land and resource requirements. The paper advocates for a 'zero fossil carbon' goal over 'net zero' to ensure aggressive immediate mitigation.
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Document type: Research paper
Naval Air Station Key West, Florida
NAS Key West, a 5,800-acre installation providing critical training and support for US military operations, faces significant risks from rising sea levels. Projections for the Florida Keys indicate sea levels could rise between 3.8 and 6.2 feet this century, threatening land that currently sits at elevations of three feet or less. The document argues that a large gap exists between current military preparedness and these threats, calling for increased funding for high-resolution flooding models, tide gauge networks, and detailed mapping to implement long-term adaptive measures.
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Document type: Case study
The US Military on the Front Lines of Rising Seas
The Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed 18 strategic US military installations on the East and Gulf coasts, finding that most face significant risks from rising seas. Under a 'highest' scenario of sea level rise, some bases could lose between 75 and 95 percent of their land area by 2100. The report highlights that tidal flooding frequency will increase steeply, and storm surges will reach further inland and with greater depth. It emphasizes the need for high-resolution mapping and regional collaboration, noting that the vulnerability of surrounding low-income and minority communities can further compromise base operations.
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Document type: Executive summary
Disaster Risks to Infrastructure in El Salvador
The document outlines a bottom-up risk assessment of seven infrastructure categories in El Salvador, estimating an average annual loss of US$35.5 million. It identifies earthquakes and floods as the primary drivers of loss and recommends integrating these findings into local planning and climate change adaptation strategies.
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Document type: Policy brief
Consideration of funding proposals – Addendum Funding proposal package for FP011
The proposal seeks USD 20,546,756 in grant financing to implement Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) across 10,000 hectares in The Gambia. The project aims to restore degraded forests, savannas, and agricultural landscapes to increase the supply of climate-resilient natural resources and establish community-managed businesses. It targets 11,550 direct beneficiaries, with a focus on women, and intends to integrate EbA into national policies and local land-use planning to catalyze a paradigm shift toward a green economy.
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Document type: Report
Fossil Fumes
The report finds that 238 US counties in 21 states face cancer risks exceeding the EPA's 1-in-a-million threshold due to oil and gas emissions, affecting over 9 million people. Key pollutants identified include benzene, formaldehyde, and ethylbenzene, with the highest risks concentrated in states with significant infrastructure like Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. The analysis highlights that NATA likely underestimates total health impacts by excluding particulate matter, ozone, and water contamination. To mitigate these risks, the report recommends implementing leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs, replacing high-emitting pneumatic equipment, and installing vapor recovery units on storage tanks.
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Document type: Report
Climate change and flood risk: Challenges for Jamaican towns and communities
The document details a CDKN-supported project (2013–14) that used Regional Climate Models (RCM) to assess future flood risks in Jamaica. Key findings include the high vulnerability of coastal tourism infrastructure in Negril to sea-level rise and the critical intersection of major roadways with high-likelihood floodplains. The study emphasizes that current risk assessments are hindered by low-resolution climate models (50 km) and a lack of high-quality topographical and hydro-meteorological data. It recommends the adoption of laser technology for terrain mapping and continuous GIS training for local government staff to improve disaster management.
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Document type: Case study