Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator

Connecting public, private and federal leaders for climate-ready communities

C2ES will launch the first regional Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator in 2023 to support neighboring local and regional jurisdictions and advance their climate and economic resilience by addressing critical climate hazards, engaging vulnerable communities, activating private sector leaders, and identifying policy and economic development opportunities. The Accelerator will galvanize regional partnerships and networks, engage business leaders, connect local communities to federal and private sector resources, and elevate local policy needs to federal lawmakers over a period of 1-2 years.
C2ES will kick off the Accelerator with a Resilient Economies Roundtable, followed by a curated Federal Resource Connector Forum and ongoing engagement to advance local action and elevate local needs to a federal audience.

Accelerator participants will:

Jointly identify strategies for regional economic prosperity through climate resilience by engaging fellow leaders from public sector, community organizations, and the business community

Accelerator participants will:

Strengthen regional coordination and leadership by identifying opportunities and new, actionable commitments and gain new insights into existing climate resilience and economic development efforts, including nature-based solutions

Accelerator participants will:

Connect with key federal agencies to understand new opportunities and funding to address barriers and elevate local and regional policy needs to federal lawmakers

Additional Program Details

What is the overall timeline and process for the program? C2ES will choose a candidate region and communities in summer of 2023. In the months that follow, C2ES will engage key stakeholders within the chosen region to establish a workplan that includes a climate resilient economies roundtable, federal resources connector forum, and process to identify tangible opportunities for participants to accelerate action. Throughout, C2ES will seek to complement and build on any existing climate resilience efforts in the region. The Accelerator is designed to continue for a second year (2024) to offer additional convenings, refine and elevate key federal policy needs with Congressional offices, and share the effort in regional and national forums.

Who should participate in the Accelerator? C2ES will invite senior-level representatives with decision-making authorities from public and private-sector and key non-profit and community organizations across the region to facilitate the acceleration of existing efforts and the development of new commitments. These leaders will represent their organizations in high-level convenings alongside resilience practitioners, technical experts, federal agency staff, and community stakeholders.

What is required of participants? C2ES seeks to support and engage regional participants who are open to new ideas, solutions, and collaboration. Participating organizations are highly encouraged to consider and define tangible opportunities to enhance their own approaches and commitments and explore ways to support and complement other resilience efforts in the region. C2ES expects that each convening will constitute a full day of activities. In addition, C2ES will engage participants at several points outside of the meetings to understand organizational goals, share relevant information, and gather insights and feedback to support productive convenings.

C2ES has selected the North Front Range of Colorado for the 2023 Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator. This region covers Fort Collins to Denver and is home to a diverse and bustling economy.  The area’s wildfire and extreme heat risks are intensifying under climate change, presenting significant risks across the region, in particular to vulnerable communities.

Through the accelerator, C2ES is working with public and private sector leaders in the region to bridge gaps and advance resilience strategies that address wildfire and extreme heat. This pilot is generously supported by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.