Critical 

High risk, high readiness 

These regions face severe risks in terms of weather and social vulnerability but are relatively well prepared to take action. Communities in these regions may be eager to take significant action to bolster economic and environmental resilience through the continued emergence of green jobs and infrastructure. 

• Climate patterns

  • Climate patterns suggest that extreme weather events, such as long droughts, hurricanes, or wildfires, are common. 

   

• Social vulnerability

  • Social vulnerability indicators may suggest a higher incidence of social challenges such as poverty, a lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, and unemployment, making it critical to expand quality green jobs.  

• Local labor market

  • Local labor market trends suggest industries have green job openings and require green skills.  

   

• Political landscape

  • The political landscape is likely supportive and open to legislation and policy changes to foster climate mitigation, economic resilience, and the emerging green economy. 

Primed 

Low risk, high readiness 

These regions face less risk than others, but they are nevertheless relatively well prepared to take action. Communities in these regions may not have as much need to navigate the extreme weather impacts or the deep social vulnerability challenges of a changing climate, but they’ve made significant progress in expanding access to green jobs and have strong political support to continue building an emerging green economy. 

• Climate patterns

  • Climate patterns suggest that extreme weather events, such as long droughts, hurricanes, and wildfires, are not common. 

• Social vulnerability

  • Social vulnerability indicators may suggest a lower incidence of social challenges, such as poverty, a lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, and unemployment. 

• Local labor market

  • Local labor market trends suggest industries have green job openings and require green skills.

   

• Political landscape

  • The political landscape is likely supportive and open to legislation and policy changes to foster climate mitigation, economic resilience, and an emerging green economy.  

Exposed 

High risk, low readiness

These regions face severe risks and might be unprepared to take action. There’s an urgent need for leaders to work collaboratively to promote environmental and economic resilience.  

• Climate patterns

  • Climate patterns suggest that extreme weather events, such as long droughts, hurricanes, or wildfires, are common. 

• Social vulnerability

  • Social vulnerability indicators may suggest a higher incidence of social challenges such as poverty, a lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, and unemployment, making it critical to expand quality green jobs.  

• Local labor market

  • Local labor market trends suggest low instances of industries providing green job openings and requiring green skills.  

   

• Political landscape

  • The political landscape is likely unsupportive of legislation and policy changes to foster climate mitigation, economic resilience, and an emerging green economy. 

Early 

Low risk, low readiness 

These regions do not currently face severe risks, and the lack of green jobs and green skills in addition to an unsupportive political landscape suggests the need to build the foundations, infrastructure, and partnerships to respond to potential future risks.  

• Climate patterns

  • Climate patterns suggest that extreme weather events, such as long droughts, hurricanes, or wildfires, are not common. 

• Social vulnerability

  • Social vulnerability indicators may suggest a lower incidence of social challenges such as poverty, a lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, and unemployment. 

• Local labor market

  • Local labor market trends suggest low instances of industries providing green job openings and requiring green skills.  

   

• Political landscape

  • The political landscape is likely unsupportive of legislation and policy changes to foster climate mitigation, economic resilience, and an emerging green economy. 

Risk and Readiness Factors Explained 

Risk Factors 

Risk factors reflect a county’s vulnerability to climate-related challenges and were derived from data focused on climate patterns and social vulnerability. In our analyses, we consolidated data from a variety of sources to define a risk indicator based on these two overarching variables: 

• Climate patterns

  • Exposure to droughts, hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and other extreme weather events in 2022.  
  • Measured in terms of risk, frequency, exposure of economic activity, and annual economic loss from the full set of extreme climate hazards that the federal government recognizes and measures. 
  • Data source: FEMA National Risk Index. 

• Social vulnerability

  • Residents’ agency and social cohesion in 2020 (most recent data available).  
  • Measured in terms of demographic characteristics that lead to disproportionately worse health and economic outcomes, such as individuals with disabilities, households headed by a single parent, people identified as racial or ethnic minorities, English learners, and various economic and social challenges, such as a lack of affordable housing, transportation access, and employment opportunities. 
  • Data sources: Center for Disease Control Social Vulnerability Index, US Census S2301: Employment Status. 

Readiness Factors 

Readiness factors reflect a county’s level of preparedness to address climate-related challenges according to the county’s local labor market and political landscape. In our analyses, we consolidated data from a variety of sources to define a readiness indicator based on these two overarching variables: 

• Local labor market

  • The labor market capacity for filling green job openings in 2022 and growth since 2018.  
  • Measured in terms of the ratio of in-demand green skills to all in-demand skills in online job postings, and their relevance’s growth over the last five years. 
  • Data source: proprietary analysis of Lightcast data by The Burning Glass Institute. 

• Political landscape

  • Political attitudes toward legislation and government incentives that support regional efforts to grow green jobs and create economic resilience in 2021 (most recent data available).  
  • Measured by the degree to which the local population supports climate initiatives and the amount of state funding for such initiatives. 
  • Data sources: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.