Climate

Climate Program Co-Directors Mariella Puerto and Mary Skelton Roberts outline the rationale, priorities, and early steps of the Foundation’s newly-expanded focus on resilience.

Written by Mariella Puerto

After Hurricane Sandy, many noted that Boston got lucky. Had that storm hit our region five hours sooner, at high tide, the scenes of devastation from Atlantic City, Breezy Point, or Lower Manhattan would likely have been East Boston, Dorchester, and Charlestown. And, as we experienced with yesterday’s Nor’easter, bringing extreme and unprecedented flooding to Boston and up and down the coast, we cannot afford to continue depending on luck alone. We have a rare and urgent opportunity to protect this region from flood risks, extreme heat, and other climate impacts before, not after, we find ourselves in the crosshairs of the next super storm.

In December, Barr President Jim Canales announced the addition of Climate Resilience as a third focus area of Barr’s Climate program. He also shared the three initial strategies that will focus our efforts. Here, we provide further commentary on the rationale for these strategies, our funding priorities under each of them, and how we intend to approach this first year of expanded grantmaking.

Strategy #1: Build Awareness of Climate Impacts, Risks, and Resilience Strategies.

When cities face major climate-related events like hurricanes, wildfires, or heat waves, it can generate public and political will for action on climate resilience. Metro Boston is in the fortunate position of being able to prepare itself before such events occur. Yet, the urgency for action in our region is not yet widespread. Much needs to be done to build understanding of how vulnerable we are, how climate change can impact different communities in different ways, and what the best strategies are to increase our resilience. We recognize that for diverse constituencies to prioritize resilience, strategies to address climate vulnerabilities must be reflective of their values and priorities. To do this, we will:

Strategy #2: Mobilize key constituencies to advance policy and implement resilience plans.

We believe when diverse constituencies are mobilized and collaborating across sectors to create common agendas for action, it accelerates policy change. In the interest of mobilizing and supporting coordinated action, our grantmaking will include the following three priorities:

Strategy #3: Support Demonstration Projects that Integrate Resilience into the Fabric of Cities.

Climate resilience is most effective when it is integrated into all capital and infrastructure projects. To get there, we need tangible examples of resilient solutions that serve to protect our most vulnerable residents.At Barr, we believe one of philanthropy’s most important functions is to invest in demonstration projects that other municipalities can replicate. Our priorities for this third strategy are to:

Resilience Priorities for 2018

In 2018, we will hire a new program officer who will oversee this expanded body of work. We expect our initial grantmaking to focus on initiatives and partners with whom we have already been engaged – such as Climate Ready Boston, the Green Ribbon Commission, and MAPC’s Metro Mayor’s Coalition. We may also support grantees in our Clean Energy and Mobility portfolios who have the capacity to integrate resilience into their ongoing efforts. We also have an interest in identifying new partners and opportunities beyond our current engagements and networks and will explore ways to solicit new ideas.To stay updated on Barr’s resilience activities and opportunities to partner with us, please click the button below to subscribe to updates.

We look forward to your partnership in this vital work.

Images from Boston, January 4, 2018:

A car drives alone through feet of flooded water.
Cars parked by Boston's waterfront are flooded with snow and water
Bud Ris
Downtown Boston is flooded with snow and water.
Car parked by Boston waterfront flooded by a storm.

authors and contributors:

News + Insights