Abstract

The Washington legislature requested that the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington “examine existing best practices and new methods that could be used to measure and evaluate climate change resilience for the purpose of better understanding and tracking how investments made in climate change resilience translate into outcomes (RCW 70A.05.010 Development of an integrated climate change response strategy).” This report responds to the legislature’s request by detailing best practices for measuring climate resilience in support of effective climate adaptation. Information provided is the product of three sources: 1) a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed published scientific and gray literature, 2) a review of current climate resilience plans of all states, and 3) ongoing collaboration with the Department of Ecology and the interagency team tasked with the update of Washington’s Climate Resilience Strategy.