Making Equity Real in Climate Adaptation & Community Resilience Policies & Programs

Created by the Greenlining Institute

Climate change impacts do not affect all communities in the same way. California must move beyond embracing equity to making equity real. This requires centering community needs and building social equity into the very fabric of policies and grant programs that focus on climate adaptation and resilience.

The 2019 "Making Equity Real in Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience Policies and Program" guidebook from the Greenlining Institute offers policymakers a blueprint on how to operationalize equity in policies and grant programs to prioritize the climate adaptation and community resilience needs of frontline communities and address the historical neglect they have experienced.

The guidebook provides:

  • Specific recommendations on how to operationalize social equity in the goals, process, implementation and analysis of policies and grant programs focused on climate adaptation
  • Examples from existing policies and grant programs to illustrate what the recommendations look like in practice

The guidebook is intended for policymakers who develop policies (bills, executive orders and local measures) and agencies that develop grant programs. Communities and advocates may also use this guidebook as a tool to assess how social equity shows up in climate adaptation and resilience proposals.