Climate Week NYC 2024, held Sept. 22-29, gathered hundreds of business and political leaders across the globe to address the need for climate action. Among the distinguished voices included Duke University, whose lineup of climate experts shared their insights and research at several key events as part of Duke's Climate Commitment. A photo essay from Duke Today showcased the involvement of Duke scholars, including several from the Nicholas Institute.

Green banks and community lenders are critical partners who can adapt well-known financing approaches to provide climate and community benefits from nature-based projects in markets that mainstream finance often does not reach. In a LinkedIn article, Nicholas Institute experts Sara Mason and Lydia Olander offer examples of innovative financing for nature-based solutions from a series of case studies that they have gathered.

Small towns at risk from climate change need better data to become more resilient. Duke Today profiled a team of Duke students who spent 10 weeks this summer working with the Town of Creswell and the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency to understand the flood issues some state residents face. The project, led by Nicholas Institute experts Lydia Olander and Francis Bouchard, was part of the Climate+ summer research program.

Understanding effectiveness of nature-based solutions projects will be key for scaling up implementation. In a LinkedIn article, Nicholas Institute experts Katie Warnell and Lydia Olander discuss the findings of their new analysis of 27 public nature-based solutions databases and identify several ways to improve how data are collected and shared.

The Atlantic Conservation Coalition—comprised of four mid-Atlantic states, The Nature Conservancy and Duke University—received a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a variety of nature-based projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Duke experts will lead reporting on the progress of the 21 projects, which will conserve or restore more than 200,000 acres of coastal habitats, forests and farmland in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland.

Are you a Duke University alum with plans (or potential plans) to attend Climate Week NYC (September 22-29) or the UNFCCC’s Conference of Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan (November 11-22)? Duke University experts will again take part in these important convenings alongside climate thought leaders and decision-makers from across the world—and we are eager to connect with Duke alumni who will also be joining.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program has announced Lydia Olander, Nicholas Institute program director, as one of more than 150 experts who will write the first-ever National Nature Assessment. The assessment will take stock of nature’s inherent worth, as well as what it provides to culture, health and well-being, jobs and livelihoods, safety and more.

During this April 2 webinar, a wide range of experts discussed a proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rule that could make it easier to activate nature-based solutions and other multibenefit approaches in water resources projects. The webinar was organized by the National Ecosystem Services Partnership and the American Society of Civil Engineers' Environmental & Water Resources Institute.

The new Nicholas Institute publication brings together available scientific evidence on mangrove degradation and recovery with anecdotal details from managers and scientists based in Puerto Rico and Florida to help inform management of mangrove habitats in the Jobos Bay and Rookery Bay research reserves.

World leaders—along with government officials, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and activists—gathered in Dubai for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss ways to advance climate action. Experts from the Nicholas Institute attended the conference, released publications or announced initiatives tied to it and/or followed the proceedings closely.