Grant Makers Need to Work on Resiliency to Climate Change

Philanthropy’s role in fighting climate change has focused mostly on supporting projects to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases on global warming. But Hurricane Sandy’s unwelcome arrival last fall underscored the need to put front and center efforts to help people and communities adapt to the weather changes that are already putting lives and businesses in jeopardy.

Just a few days after Sandy barreled through the region, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York tacitly fingered climate change as a culprit and warned of the need to prepare for more of the same.

“It is not prudent to sit here ... and say, it’s not going to happen again,” said Governor Cuomo. “Once you have that recognition, then what are you doing about it, and what design changes, what construction changes, are you making to deal with it?”

Philanthropists who focus on all kinds of causes—not just the environment—need to think about these issues. After all, the poor and elderly are among those most likely to be hurt by catastrophes caused by climate change.

But what can philanthropy do to help deal with the inevitable?