Journal article
Funding rules that promote equity in climate adaptation outcomes
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.122(2), p.e2418711121
01/14/2025
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2418711121
PMCID: PMC11745337
PMID: 39772739
Abstract
SignificancePublic management of climate risks often aims to promote equity. One key approach to this end is through adaptation funding rules. In the United States, the Justice40 Initiative, introduced in 2021, transformed the way federal agencies prioritize grant applications for funding related to climate investments. We analyze whether the Justice40 Initiative can improve on equity in household outcomes in a flood elevation case study in a resource-stressed municipality. In our case study, prioritizing funds for elevation in “Justice40 Communities” leads to less equitable outcomes across households compared to all other considered funding rules. We design and test simple funding rules based on household risk burden that can improve on Justice40 in terms of both equity and economic objectives.
Many climate policies adopt improving equity as a key objective. A key challenge is that policies often conceive of equity in terms of individuals but introduce strategies that focus on spatially coarse administrative areas. For example, the Justice40 Initiative in the United States requires 518 diverse federal programs to prioritize funds for “disadvantaged” census tracts. This strategy is largely untested and contrasts with the federal government’s definition of equity as the “consistent and systematic fair, just and impartial treatment of all individuals (Executive Office of the President, Federal Register, 2021).” How well does the Justice40 approach improve equity in climate adaptation outcomes across individuals? We analyze this question using a case study of a municipality that faces repetitive flooding and struggles to effectively manage these risks due to limited resources and public investment. We find that the way the Federal Emergency Management Agency implements the Justice40 Initiative can be an obstacle to promoting equity in household flood-risk outcomes. For example, in this case study, ensuring the majority of benefits accrue in “Justice40 Communities” does not reduce risk for the most burdened households, does not reduce risk-burden inequality, and produces net costs. In contrast, we design simple funding rules based on household risk burden that cost-effectively target the most burdened households, reduce risk-burden inequality, and accrue large net benefits. Our findings suggest that “disadvantaged community” indicators defined at coarse spatial scales face the risk of poorly capturing many climate risks and can be ineffective for meeting equity promises about climate-related investments.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Funding rules that promote equity in climate adaptation outcomes
- Creators
- Adam B. Pollack - Dartmouth CollegeSara Santamaria-Aguilar - University of Central FloridaPravin Maduwantha - University of Central FloridaCasey Helgeson - Pennsylvania State UniversityThomas Wahl - University of Central FloridaKlaus Keller - Dartmouth College
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.122(2), p.e2418711121
- DOI
- 10.1073/pnas.2418711121
- PMID
- 39772739
- PMCID
- PMC11745337
- NLM abbreviation
- Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
- ISSN
- 0027-8424
- eISSN
- 1091-6490
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- n/a / Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College ICER-2103754 / NSF (NSF) (100000001)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/14/2025
- Academic Unit
- School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability
- Record Identifier
- 9985112882402771
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