Climate Resilience Commentaries

  • An Early Warning System for Landslides Protects Sitka, Alaska

    A 2015 landslide that killed three people in Sitka, Alaska, changed how residents looked at the steep hills all around them. The community worked with researchers to develop a warning system to prevent such tragedies in the future.

    Mar 14, 2023

  • California's Ambitious Decarbonization Plan Hasn't Been Future-Proofed

    California has an ambitious blueprint to make the state carbon-neutral by 2045. But there's been no integrated stress test of the whole plan. The state needs and deserves a future-proofed, stress-tested plan that all Californians can trust to achieve its climate goals.

    Dec 15, 2022

  • Q&A with the Experts: Puerto Rico

    When Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico on September 18, electricity went out across the island. It was a reminder that recovery from 2017's Hurricane Maria is far from complete. RAND researchers discuss the difficulties Puerto Rico is still facing.

    Oct 10, 2022

  • The Disaster Bills Coming Due

    The United States largely waits for a disaster to strike and then spends billions to repair damages. Investing in resilience today can significantly reduce the costs to recover after a disaster strikes.

    Sep 20, 2022

  • How Could the United States Incentivize Investors to Decarbonize the Economy?

    While mandatory climate-related disclosure may improve information and decisionmaking for investors, it alone is unlikely to accelerate investment in decarbonization at the rate needed. To motivate private investment in climate mitigation, policymakers could explore additional policies.

    May 12, 2022

  • Amid Climate Change, These Tech and Policy Experts See Reason for Optimism

    To slow climate change and adapt to the damage already underway, the world will have to shift how it generates and uses energy, transports people and goods, designs buildings, and grows food. That starts with embracing innovation and change.

    Apr 18, 2022

  • To Help Climate Migrants, We Must First Recognize Them

    Despite the large and growing population displaced by extreme weather, there is no common definition of a “climate migrant.” Once we get a clearer sense of just who is a climate migrant, policy efforts should begin focusing on the full fabric of life in our communities, creating systems that will help migrants become a part of that fabric in safe and dignified ways.

    Jan 28, 2022

  • Manipulating the Climate: What Are the Geopolitical Risks?

    Geoengineering technologies that could block the sun's rays or siphon huge amounts of carbon from the air are not that far out of reach. Yet the international community has not established the kinds of guardrails you might expect for potentially world-changing technologies.

    Dec 29, 2021

  • Measuring Greenhouse Gases in Los Angeles County

    Los Angeles, once the U.S. capital of smog and sprawl, has vowed to lead the nation into a cleaner, greener future by stamping out carbon pollution. A small array of sensors installed on the roof of RAND's Santa Monica headquarters could help it get there.

    Nov 30, 2021

  • More Than Green: Leveraging Green Bonds to Invest in Greater Climate Resilience

    The significance of green bonds may depend not only on having a lot of them but also on carefully developing, investing, and tracking projects against the larger goal of climate resilience.

    Nov 24, 2021

  • The Growing Green Bond Market Could Plateau. How Can It Grow Further?

    If green bonds are a viable tool to reduce emissions and adapt infrastructure to the effects of climate change, how can governments encourage the issuance, sales, and growth in the share of green bonds in the total bond market?

    Nov 23, 2021

  • Green Bonds Can Leave Issuers in the Red

    To achieve the Biden administration's blueprint for solar energy and focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation, green bonds may be worth considering. But Brian Wong (cohort '20) suggests that, like any other financing instrument, they may be best considered through a cost-benefit lens.

    Nov 22, 2021