Climate Impacts Group

UW Environment celebrates partnership and impact at Community-Engaged Research Symposium

Applications for the 2026 Climate Equity and ReSilience Conference Now Open

Are you a graduate student (master’s, doctoral, post-doc) or early-career professional (five years from a terminal degree) interested in understanding how climate equity and resilience connects to your research, work, or life?

The Climate Equity and Resilience Institute (CERSI) invites you to a transformative week-long program designed to deepen your knowledge and grow your community.

From September 27-October 4, 2026, participants will get to explore climate resilience through place-based learning, immersive field trips, and engaging discussions with guest speakers, all while building meaningful connections with others passionate about how climate intersects with societies and culture in a variety of contexts. 

An Olympic orientation: UW Climate Impacts Group and Washington Sea Grant pilot a learning institute for emerging environmental professionals

Many job orientations start in a lobby or a conference room. This one began at the scars left by a dam and wound its way to the mouth of a great river.

Sixteen emerging environmental professionals – of different backgrounds, but together undertaking a new chapter in their careers – gathered for lunch on the pebbly shore, waves lapping near where the Elwha empties itself into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, on the Olympic Peninsula. Their tour of the river was being led by Vanessa Castle of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Throughout the day, Castle had spoken to the group about the history of the Elwha. 

Climate Impacts Group Contributes to Recommendations on Washington Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report

The Washington state legislature tasked the Washington state Department of Ecology, with support from the Climate Impacts Group, to analyze recent national and international climate reports and provide recommendations to Washington lawmakers on whether to amend Washington state’s statutory limits on greenhouse gas emissions (RCW 70A.45.040).

National and international reports on climate change, like the fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report (IPCC AR6) provide broad information on climate change impacts for the nation and globe. Though useful, this information is often too broad to inform local-scale climate resilience efforts in Washington state.

Previous reports on climate impacts for Washington state have focused on assessing changes at future time periods (e.g., 2050s) and under specific future climate scenarios. 

Funding Opportunity for Washington Coastal Tribes

The Climate Impacts Group is launching a small grants program, the Washington Coastal resilience and Adaptation Funding for Tribes (WA-CRAFT), to support the climate adaptation work of Washington coastal Tribes. In alignment with our commitment to honor Tribal sovereignty and self-determination, the program was co-designed with Tribal partners. Guided by their feedback, the program is designed to be non-competitive, low-barrier, and unrestricted to maximize flexibility and accessibility of funds.

In this time of funding uncertainty, we are honored to support the original stewards of this land as they continue their vital work—work that has sustained Tribal communities since time immemorial.

Learn more and apply by August 11, 2025 

UW Libraries hosting alternative access to federal climate data

In light of growing concerns for the continued availability of federal climate data and tools, we would like to point you toward an ongoing effort at UW Libraries to gather alternative links to federal climate resources and websites. 

You can find a current list of these alternative access links at UW Libraries. This list includes links to archived versions of government webpages (for example, via the GovWayback archive and others) as well as a section titled ‘Climate, energy, & environmental data’ which lists access links for various climate datasets and tools. This list is by no means comprehensive and is likely to expand. 

CIG Update: Termination of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative

Dear supporters of the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group,

We are deeply saddened to report that the Acting Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Grants Management Division sent a letter on May 5th terminating the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative (NCRC), effective immediately. The NCRC, a NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership (CAP) program, was the Climate Impacts Group (CIG)’s largest source of funding to work with rural communities and Tribes across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho to adapt and build resilience to climate impacts such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, and sea level rise.

CIG has hosted the NCRC, a collaboration among academic institutions and Tribal- and community-based organizations, since 2021. 

CIG Update: Federal Funding Uncertainty & Potential Program Impacts

Dear supporters of the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, 

We appreciate the role each of you has played in our collective efforts to help make communities, Washington state, and the Pacific Northwest more resilient to extreme weather events, climate variability, and climate change over the past 30 years.  

We wanted to share with each of you an update regarding federal funding for two of our programs: 1) the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative (NCRC), a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funded Climate Adaptation Partnership program, and 2) the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC), a federal-consortium partnership funded by the US Geological Survey (USGS). 

Susan Dickerson-Lange Joins UW Climate Impacts Group as the New Director

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) has named Susan Dickerson-Lange as its new director. In her role, Dickerson-Lange will provide strategic leadership for CIG, driving financial stewardship and fundraising while supporting the team to deepen partnerships and expand offerings advancing climate resilience in the Pacific Northwest.

New report from Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative shares both barriers and paths to climate resilience for Northwest Coastal Tribes

Along the Washington and Oregon coasts, rising sea levels and changes in ocean chemistry are combining with increasing river floods and other land-based impacts of climate change. These changes hold serious consequences for coastal communities, aquatic ecosystems, fisheries and infrastructure. 

The Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative conducted an assessment over two years to better understand the state of climate adaptation among Northwest coastal Tribes, and to elevate Tribes’ experience of key barriers and needs which, if addressed, could help advance Tribal resilience.

The assessment was informed by a review of Tribal climate documents and other relevant reports, as well as a series of listening sessions with Tribal staff, citizens and elected officials.