Climate Vulnerability - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 2: Climate Vulnerability

Barrier Statement

Communities struggle to access and assess the granular information needed to adequately understand and address short-term and long-term climate impacts and challenges like extreme heat, water scarcity, wildfires, and air quality.

Filterable Database

How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - Central Coast, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

Communities face overlapping climate risks that unfold across short, medium and long term timeframes and vary significantly across urban, rural, coastal, and inland areas. Existing planning tools do not always capture the granularity of the risks and it is difficult to prioritize actions and investments.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast

There is a gap between those with technical climate knowledge and the broader public. Agencies and other actors sometimes offer incoherent or conflicting narratives about climate risks and solutions, leading to mistrust and confusion leaving communities confused and unable to understand or act on climate-vulnerability information.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego

Short-Term and Unstable Funding Limits Long-Term Climate Vulnerability Assessment. One-off, competitive grants and short funding cycles prevent communities from maintaining up-to-date climate assessments or monitoring adaptation effectiveness across short-, medium-, and long-term climate events.

Key challenge discussed in - Central Coast

Vulnerable populations (including farmworkers, Indigenous communities, low-income residents, and those without air conditioning or reliable power) face compounded exposure to climate hazards with the least capacity to adapt.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area

Limited local and community-based organizational capacity restricts climate-risk analysis and communication. Staff shortages, technical skill gaps, language-access needs, and administrative burdens reduce the ability of local governments and CBOs to evaluate climate impacts and share information effectively with residents.

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Establish and strengthen regional, cross-sector climate collaboratives that unify cities, counties, agencies, CBOs, and land managers to coordinate climate-risk data, resources, and resilience actions. These multi-stakeholder networks integrate energy, housing, public health, and land management strategies, enabling aligned responses to cascading climate impacts—including extreme heat, wildfire, air-quality hazards, and post-disaster recovery needs.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. BayCAN (Bay Area Climate Adaptation Network) 2. Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network (shared management of natural resources)

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast, Inland Deserts, San Diego

Local Solution

Counter the gap between technical climate framing and community understanding by communicating climate vulnerability through the lens of everyday health, safety, and quality-of-life impacts; using messengers and platforms that communities already trust rather than top-down technical channels.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Youth engagement programs that train young people to communicate extreme heat, wildfire, and emergency-preparedness information to their peers through digital platforms represent one emerging model for how this kind of trusted, community-embedded climate communication can work in practice.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast

Local Solution

Strengthening tenant protections during climate disasters: Policies preventing displacement that worsens vulnerability when climate shocks occur—e.g., eviction moratoria during declared disasters.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Sonoma County’s nation-leading disaster-eviction moratorium protects residents during storms and wildfires.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

State should fund a sustained, community-led engagement campaign that rebuilds trust with frontline communities by replacing top-down technical messaging with locally trusted, multilingual, and culturally relevant communication around heat, wildfire, flooding, and disaster preparedness.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast

State Solution

Develop and maintain a centralized, statewide climate-information system that integrates hazard and social vulnerability mapping, open-source data tools, and public outreach platforms—such as 311-style resilience hotlines, online portals, and accessible in-person or hybrid support—to ensure communities can easily access climate-risk information and resources.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Information’s Vulnerable Communities platform that is a “One-stop-shop for local planners to get a snapshot that their communities face—wildfire, flooding, sea level rise, drought”

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

State Solution

Enable small, community-led resilience projects by providing dedicated funding, technical assistance, and streamlined procurement pathways that allow CBOs and grassroots groups to implement heat, flood, wildfire, and air-quality resilience measures.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

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Additional Resources

Please share any additional resources you would like to include by emailing eecoordinator@civicwell.org.