Supporting Community-Driven Solutions for Heat Resilience
Project Partners
We partner with faith-based organizations and local leaders to understand community experiences with extreme heat.
Extreme heat is placing growing pressure on communities across the Carolinas, increasing energy costs, straining household budgets, and exacerbating health risks—particularly for low-income and historically marginalized populations. The Cooling Communities project, funded by an Environmental and Climate Justice in the Carolinas grant from The Duke Endowment, takes a two-pronged approach to addressing this challenge:
- Community-Led Solutions – Partnering with faith-based organizations and local leaders to understand community experiences with extreme heat and co-develop strategies for resilience.
- Innovative Financial Tools – Exploring the feasibility of a parametric insurance model to provide financial relief for energy costs during extreme heat events.
Project Overview
Community Engagement & Faith-Based Partnerships
Engaging Church Partners Across the Carolinas: The Nicholas Institute is working with Interfaith Power & Light (North Carolina and South Carolina) and the Ormond Center at Duke Divinity School to identify and engage faith-based communities in the Carolinas. Churches are trusted hubs in their communities, providing spaces for outreach, resilience-building, and advocacy—so are uniquely positioned to advance heat resilience.
Understanding Community Needs: Through listening sessions and direct engagement, the project aims to better understand how communities experience and cope with extreme heat, with a particular focus on energy burden—the disproportionate impact of high energy costs on low-income households.
Providing Actionable Pathways: Students from the Ormond Center are supporting the participating communities by developing Concept Notes—fundable project proposals that congregations and community organizations can use to seek financial support for heat resilience initiatives, such as cooling infrastructure, energy efficiency programs, or community cooling centers.
Innovative Insurance Solutions for Heat Resilience
Partnering with Utilities & Insurers: The project brings together experts from the utility and insurance sectors to evaluate the feasibility of a parametric insurance product designed to alleviate energy cost spikes for low-income households during extreme heat.
Parametric insurance pays out automatically when pre-defined extreme heat thresholds are met—helping vulnerable households manage increased utility costs without bureaucratic delays.
Findings from this analysis will be compiled into a white paper, outlining the feasibility, potential impact, and implementation pathways for such a product, with insights for policymakers, utilities, and insurers.
Why This Project Matters
Empowering Communities: By working directly with faith-based leaders, this project centers local voices in developing climate resilience strategies.
Addressing Energy Inequity: Extreme heat disproportionately affects low-income households, making energy costs an unsustainable burden. New financial models are needed to provide relief.
Bridging Community & Industry Solutions: Collaboration between communities, utilities, and insurers can unlock innovative approaches to climate adaptation that serve both social and economic needs.
