Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeEnvironmentNew training will lead to climate resilience and equitable disaster response

New training will lead to climate resilience and equitable disaster response


New training will lead to climate resilience and equitable disaster response

Image: DepositPhotos

As the impacts of climate change increase, we can expect to see more extreme disasters due to more extreme disasters and increased vulnerability to them.Like other disasters, historically underserved communities disproportionately at risk.

As part of a broader federal effort to mitigate and adapt to climate challenges, FEMA has awarded Columbia Climate School National Disaster Preparedness Center A $1.5 million, three-year training grant to create an equity-focused national curriculum on climate resilience for today’s state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency managers.

National Disaster Preparedness Center has been developing Since 2016, FEMA has sponsored training. These trainings focus on post-disaster economic and housing recovery as well as pandemic and mass care, emphasizing how communities can more effectively prepare for and recover from catastrophic events.New training is part of first FEMA training grant program related to agency’s climate change and equity topics new strategic plan.

The grant is part of FEMA’s larger strategic plan to instill equity as the foundation of emergency management and lead communities in climate resilience.

“Our needs analysis shows that emergency managers are responding to the consequences of increasingly unpredictable and severe weather events, and ultimately new challenges to the populations they serve,” said Thomas Chandler, deputy director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. “Additionally, we have identified a need to raise awareness that disasters disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.”

Research shows that vulnerable populations are most likely to live in areas with high exposure to threats such as greater hurricane rainfall, more severe storm surges, more deadly heat waves, more severe droughts and more widespread wildfires. In turn, such disasters tend to exacerbate inequality in American communities.

“We must recognize that we are facing a climate crisis and educate ourselves and the nation about the impact our changing climate is having on the emergency management arena,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

These trainings are expected to be offered in fall 2023. They will support community efforts to address climate risks, hazards, and vulnerabilities; incorporate strategies into their emergency management plans; develop strategies more effectively with community leaders; and take the lead in creating more resilient and equitable community responses.

About the National Democratic Party

This National Disaster Preparedness Center Columbia University’s Columbia Climate Institute (NCDP) works to understand and improve the nation’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. NCDP focuses on the readiness of governmental and non-governmental systems; the complexities of population recovery; the power of community engagement; and the risks of human vulnerability, with a particular focus on children.

About the Columbia University Climate Institute

This Columbia Climate School To develop and inspire knowledge-based solutions and prepare future leaders for just and prosperous societies on a healthy planet. The Climate Institute brings together Columbia’s strengths in basic and applied sciences and extends its resources to understand climate and its impact on society. This unprecedented commitment to address humanity’s greatest challenge builds on Columbia’s unique history of climate change research dating back to the founding of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in 1949 and spanning the decades since.

Training Grants Supported by FEMA Cooperative Agreement EMW-2022-CA-00037 And managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The views or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not represent the official position or policy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.




Source link

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular

Recent Comments