Reports

Summary: BlackRock investment teams have made a major investment over the past few years to incorporate geospatial data directly into their investment processes. The resulting set of alpha insights incorporate timely National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) data directly into portfolios. These alpha insights are designed to help deliver portfolios that are more resilient to the effects of climate change.

Summary: The Bay Area Council Foundation’s California Resilience Challenge was launched in December 2019 to help innovative and replicable projects in under-resourced communities compete for advanced planning and implementation grants from state, federal, and philanthropic programs by providing them with small, early stage planning grants to help these communities get a jumpstart on their projects. Four years later, the 2020 Challenge’s initial $2 million investment has been leveraged by grantees to raise an additional $34 million, including nearly $7 million for project implementation.

Summary: To assess the potential of scaling up forest treatments in Sonoma County, Regenerative Forest Solutions (RFS) launched the Sonoma County Wood Recovery & Utilization Project (project) in 2023. This project evaluated the county’s existing landscape and identified key opportunities and challenges for implementing effective solutions.

Summary: Through this effort the project team investigated opportunities for establishing greenbelt buffers as wildfire protection to nearby communities while pinpointing a strategic location for Ag + Open Space to consider in order to reach its conservation and stewardship goals.

Summary: The POSA (Padres Organizados por la Salud Ambiental) program arms parents with culturally relevant education on environmental justice issues in underserved communities to advocate for equitable climate solutions and sustainable practices. The program trains parent leaders in advocacy strategies and equips them with tools like infrared thermometers to monitor campus temperatures, connect with key stakeholders, and engage decision-makers to promote systemic changes.

Summary: As CIPL wraps up this two-year grant, our team is pleased with the direction this project has taken and the progress we’ve made in developing a climate resilience network throughout Compton and building the foundation for a resilience hub at two congregations.

Summary: The California Resilience Challenge grant received by USGBC-LA directly supported the development of the Boyle Heights Resilience Hub in Boyle Heights, a low-income, largely Latino community surrounded by freeways and highly affected by climate impacts.

Summary: Through the County’s work with the Fairmead community, the project team identified multiple water needs, and residents are eager to learn and participate in the process to design and implement groundwater resiliency projects.

Summary: With funding from the California Resilience Challenge Grant, the Town of Paradise formed a team of experts including Milliman, Inc. (Milliman) and CoreLogic to study the impact of mitigation strategies on wildfires. Using the Town of Paradise as a case study, the team performed a scientifically supported review of how various approaches to wildfire mitigation could impact wildfire risk and Homeowners insurance premiums in California’s wildland urban interface (“WUI”).

Summary: In late 2022, the County of Santa Barbara, on behalf of the Santa Barbara County Regional Climate Collaborative launched the Resilience Hubs pilot program. Three sites across the region were selected to participate in a cohort-style program to receive technical assistance and to develop plans to increase capacity to respond to local emergencies and build community resilience.