Resources

First come the flood and the mad rush of damages … and then come the more long-lasting adverse impacts continuing far beyond the initial headlines and hand-wringing. In this piece for Yale Climate Connections, Emily Jack-Scott (AGCI) and Sarah Spengeman (Energy Innovation Policy & Technology LLC®) explore the catastrophic consequences of climate events on human health and nutrition, and what can be done to lessen the threats and foster resilience.

Many US coastal states are looking to the prospect of ocean renewable energy (ORE), particularly offshore wind, to help meet ambitious emissions reduction goals. Social science offers insight into who supports or opposes ORE and why, and suggests actions that could help promote a more just transition to ORE.

By creating structures for marginalized communities to generate their own renewable electricity, community-driven programs like Europe's Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) have the potential to improve energy justice. However, as AGCI's Emily Jack-Scott and Energy Innovation Policy & Technology LLC®'s Hadley Tallackson explain, recent research illustrates how RECs must be carefully designed to not worsen energy inequities facing low-income and vulnerable households.

New research showcases how coupling existing state efforts to accelerate renewable energy adoption in underserved low-income communities and to replace aging gas distribution networks with district heating and cooling could transform overburdened communities into high energy-performance communities that are safer and more resilient.

Researchers and health professionals are documenting an uptick in climate-related mental health stress. In this article for Yale Climate Connections, AGCI's Emily Jack-Scott and Energy Innovation Policy & Technology LLC®'s Michelle Solomon explore why more inclusive research is needed to address inequities in both climate-related mental health burden and the availability of support services in Indigenous and marginalized communities.

Recent articles highlight the challenges of studying the impacts of climate change on mental health, along with the lack of representation in current research among those most vulnerable to and most impacted by climate change.