Resilience Finance Guidebook for Local Governments

In addition to efforts to drive investments in carbon emissions reduction, local governments are also grappling with how to pay for the projects needed to protect their communities from increasing impacts from a changing climate. While the economic case for resilience is clear—every $1 invested today saves us up to $13 in future losses avoided—the scale of investment needed to modernize aging infrastructure and protect communities from accelerating climate threats far outpaces what public grants and post-disaster recovery funds can deliver alone.

The Resilience Finance Guidebook for Local Governments from ICLEI USA and Duke University’s Nicholas Institute serves as a critical framework to help local governments fill this gap. Authored by Victoria Salinas (Climate Leader in Residence at Duke University, ICLEI USA Board Member, and former Deputy Administrator for Resilience at FEMA), this guide delivers a highly practical and applied framework for helping local governments systematically remove barriers to finance and structure their resilience projects in ways that can attract private investment.