Energy Department funds Alaska climate resilience center

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced $10 million in funding for 10 innovative climate resilience centers, including one led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 

The projects are part of the agency’s Justice40 Initiative and are designed to ensure that all Americans are benefitting from scientific research.

The new Climate Resilience Center for Alaska brings UAF researchers together with others at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. It will be led by climate scientist Rick Lader with UAF’s International Arctic Research Center.

“This is a great opportunity to leverage past investment by the Department of Energy in Arctic research at UAF to address the unmet needs identified by Alaska communities,” Lader said. “We’re going to be building relationships and two-way communication so that the climate science is more available to communities and the knowledge from community members can better inform the science.”

Researchers at UAF have long been at the cutting edge of understanding the significant changes to the Arctic region due to climate warming, often with the support of the climate modeling expertise of the Department of Energy.

This project will enhance communication with Alaska communities about existing climate science, develop relationships and incorporate the best available science into educational pathways and land planning. 

Pilot research specifically focused on southwestern Alaska will be a significant part of the work, which will involve graduate students as well as outreach and communications staff. 

“We’re hoping to train the next generation of climate investigators right here in Alaska,” Lader said. “Our environment is so unique and our context so specific that failing to emphasize the role of tribal and rural communities in informing and using climate models doesn’t make sense.”

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