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Climate action (GOAL 13)

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Climate change is a real and undeniable threat to our entire civilization. The effects are already visible and will be catastrophic unless we act now. Through education, innovation and adherence to our climate commitments, we can make the necessary changes to protect the planet. These changes also provide huge opportunities to modernize our infrastructure which will create new jobs and promote greater prosperity across the globe.

SDG 13 Workflows & Tutorials

These tutorials use problem-solving exercises to give you hands-on learning experiences with real-world GIS applications.

Collect hurricane damage assessments

Deploy multiple ArcGIS apps to create, map, and manage damage assessment surveys.

Reveal lake shrinkage due to severe drought

Use the World Imagery Wayback app to create a story with swipe maps and visualize the extent of lake shrinkage due to severe droughts.

Map the effects of climate change on the ocean

Map warming temperatures, acidification, and deoxygenation with CMIP6 data.

Investigate how nitrogen impacts the environment

Explore changes in nitrogen over time in the Netherlands and determine its relationship to Dutch fauna.

Classify land cover to measure shrinking lakes

Compare imagery to calculate area change in Lake Poyang, China.

Map hurricane storm surges

Use global elevation data to predict how storm surges will flood coastlines.

Customize a climate resilience index

Map where heat health interventions will be most impactful in your community by adding demographic variables that fit your local context.

SDG 13 Quick Reads & Videos

Sustainable Development Goals Solution Released

The Sustainable Development Goals solution delivers a set of capabilities that help governments share progress made on Sustainable Development Goals.

Maps Serve as a Compass for the SDGs

We have less than eight years to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Maps can help us better understand them and monitor progress.

To Save Earth’s Climate, Map the Oceans

Scientists know more about the dark side of the moon than they do about Earth’s ocean depths. Seabed 2030 seeks to change that.

ArcGIS StoryMaps Helps Students Show How Far Beach Litter Travels

From collecting trash to modeling where winds and ocean currents take it, young people in New Zealand get inspired to take action.

Oklahoma Crowdsources Damage Assessments to Kick-Start Disaster Recovery

After historic floods in 2019, the Department of Emergency Management used a GIS-based workflow to report damage.

Using Configurations Speeds Rescues and Damage Reports

New Bern, North Carolina used ArcGIS field apps to coordinate water rescues during Hurricane Florence and document damage to speed relief funds.

Use ArcGIS Pro to Evaluate Climate Change Data Webinar

This webinar covers the latest scientific data on climate change giving you the basis to explore how scientists project your climate will change.

Geospatial Technologies Help Mitigate the Risks of Climate Change

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) studies the effects of various climate change phenomena throughout the world.

Facing Sea Level Rise, Miami Beach Uses GIS to Prioritize Mitigation Projects

Miami Beach, Florida, is one of the most vulnerable areas for sea level rise in the United States.

Mobile GIS Apps Help Citizen Scientists Guide Oil Spill Cleanup

After 25,000 gallons of crude oil spewed into the Pacific Ocean, the Surfrider Foundation leveraged location to streamline data collection.

Maps and Data Help Sunrise LA Tell Compelling Climate Stories

The movement gains momentum from in-person events, so activists started using ArcGIS StoryMaps in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

White House Releases New Climate Data Portal

The Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation portal is helping communities make data-driven decisions when faced with natural hazards.

Wildfire Restoration: Mapping a Climate-Resilient Camp Fire Recovery Plan

After the 2018 Camp Fire in California, the Bureau of Land Management set out to map a climate-informed restoration plan.

Reducing Temperatures with Geographic Layers

With the help of location intelligence, Prague city planners are taking a stand to protect their city and its citizens--and seeing positive results.

Why It's A Lucky Time to Be An Ecologist

From microbiologists to remote sensing experts, GIS brings together scientific experts across disciplines, demonstrating the impact of climate change on the entire ecosystem.

Responding to the Climate Emergency with Indigenous Knowledge

James Rattling Leaf, Sr., of the South Dakota Rosebud Sioux Tribe, explains how ecological knowledge can be used with GIS to address the impacts of our changing climate.

SDG 13: Climate Action

Explore place-based stories, created with ArcGIS StoryMaps, that highlight the impacts of climate change and GIS tools that can help.

GIS for Climate Resilience

This site contains hands-on tutorials to enhance the geospatial capacity of stakeholders seeking to preparing their cities to withstand weather and climate-related hazards.

Climate Action: Reasons for Hope

Climate change produces a feeling of hopelessness. Highlighting the solutions that are underway is the focus of Atlas of Climate Action: Resilience and Reduction.

Creating a More Climate-Adaptive City: LA's First Heat Officer

Marta Segura, Chief Heat Officer for LA, talks about how location technology is helping bring relief to residents during heatwaves.

Harnessing Geospatial Technology to Support Early Flood Warning in Nigeria

A youth-led nonprofit organization in Nigeria used Africa Geoportal to create flood maps and applications to help support communities.

Harnessing the Power of GIS for Sustainability and Climate Action

Sustainability and climate action have become critical priorities for individuals, organizations, and governments alike.