Virginia Climate Center receives funding

James Kinter, Professor, Climate Dynamics, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences (AOES), Director, Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA); Edward Maibach, Director, Center for Climate Change Communication, and University Professor of Communication; Celso Ferreira, Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering; and Luis Ortiz, Assistant Professor, AOES,received funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for: "The Virginia Climate Center."

This funding will support a two-year community project under the NOAA Operations, Research and Facilities Program to establish the Virginia Climate Center to serve as a climate extension service to help communities in the Commonwealth increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.  

This pilot project will establish the Center in partnership with the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, City of Fairfax, County of Fairfax, and other jurisdictions in northern Virginia. The Center will provide products and services to Virginia municipalities and firms to adopt risk prevention and mitigation strategies for wise resource management and sustainable entrepreneurship.

Local decision-makers will gain access to an unprecedented range of observational data, environmental models, and experts in climate science, sustainability, and engineering solutions. The Center's data-driven decision support will improve the livelihoods of Virginians and save tax dollars, increasing resilience to severe weather, air pollution, drought, and floods, with an emphasis on the underprivileged communities that are most susceptible to adverse effects of climate change.

The researchers received $1,979,000 from NOAA as part of this award. The award was made possible by the efforts of Rep. Gerald Connolly, who sponsored and shepherded the funding through the U.S. House of Representatives. Funding began in Sept. 2022 and will end in late August 2024.