Communities and nations of the 21st century face a great challenge: to protect people from the harm caused by an increasingly volatile climate.
The damaging impacts of climate change will grow as the climate changes and adaptation fails to keep pace, unless societies take steps to increase their resilience through aggressive action on both climate mitigation and adaptation.
This report focuses on adaptation, where choosing among possible actions is often not straightforward or intuitive, and highlights 15 principles for decision makers to use to prioritize investments in climate change adaptation.
In this report
Report
Causes of Sea Level Rise: What the Science Tells Us
Sea level is rising -- and at an accelerating rate -- largely in response to global warming. A 2013 fact sheet from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Report
Encroaching Tides
Tidal flooding, driven by sea level rise, will dramatically increase in U.S. East and Gulf Coast communities over the next 30 years, with serious implications for property, infrastructure, and daily life in affected areas.
Report
The US Military on the Front Lines of Rising Seas
Rising seas will increasingly flood many of our coastal military bases.
Downloads
Related resources
Feature
2024 Annual Report
With your help, we made significant strides toward a better future in 2024.
Video
Inside Multnomah County's Climate Lawsuit
In 2021, Multnomah County, Oregon faced a deadly heat dome, where temperatures reached as high as 116F and more than 60 people were killed in that county alone.
Activist Resource
A Path Forward
We know the next four years will be a dangerous time for our country and for everyone who cares about a safe, sustainable, and just future.
Video
Sea level rise, explained by kids
Young people have a lot to say about how global warming is changing the world.