Climate Resilience is Local Governance!

For Immediate Release: July 27, 2026

Pocantico Hills, NY — Talk to anyone who has lived through a disaster, and they will tell you that key decisions rarely happen during the storm. They happen in the fog of the days and weeks after when stress is high, people are lost, and funding is hardest to secure. As severe storms and cumulative climate impacts increase, reactive approaches are no longer tenable. The next generation of crisis readiness must prioritize localized democratic principles as a central part of resilience.

To address this challenge, the Climate Democracy Initiative (CDI) officially launched its Community Climate Resilience (CCR) program with its first national convening, supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund at their Pocantico Center in New York. The goal is to center the voices and experiences of small town and rural leaders from across the country in proactive, inclusive planning for disaster recovery, hazard mitigation, and community resilience.

Because CCR’s focus is inclusion of small town and rural voices in the planning process, CDI developed the workshop with representatives from more than 25 rural and small-town organizations on the front lines of recent disaster recovery efforts. Among them were leaders from communities impacted by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, the Eaton Fire in California, and historic flooding in Texas.

“Our participants shared that the systems built to manage emergencies cannot by themselves produce resilience, especially in small and rural communities," said CDI Executive Director Natalie Montecino. In the coming weeks and months, participants will continue their collaboration, reaching out to others in similar situations to redefine best practices and identify resourcing opportunities. “Our goal is to provide a jumping-on point for any community finding themselves left out of currently available trainings, communications, and resources,” Montecino said. “And we want their input! Those closest to the impacts must be central to shaping the solutions.”

To learn more, explore upcoming programming, or get involved, visit the CDI Community Climate Resilience Program, or contact CCR Program Manager Kara Lamb at kara@climatedemocracyinitiative.org or (970) 215-9545.