Tailwind’s Perspective
April was a hard month for professionals in climate adaptation and resilience.
Weather and climate research were hit especially hard. NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) was affected by federal employee terminations, leading to understaffed offices that directly impacted NWS’s ability to monitor weather as effectively in certain parts of the country. The administration is now proposing to cut NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) budget by nearly 75% and terminate its 10 research laboratories. This would close all of NOAA’s weather, climate, and ocean Laboratories and its 16 Cooperative Institutes. It will also stagnate National Weather Service (NWS) weather models and cause NOAA’s university research funding to plummet, among other major impacts.
Separately, the White House also ended funding for the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), a congressionally-mandated program to prepare the National Climate Assessment every four years, leading to the termination of of all USGCRP staff. This was followed by the abrupt dismissal of 400 scientists from universities and research institutions across the country that were contributing to the NCA. The NCA is used by states and local governments to understand and plan for climate impacts to protect local communities, ecosystems, and businesses.
Disaster risk preparedness and management were also directly affected by the budget cancellation of FEMA’s BRIC grants, including for projects already underway to support hundreds of communities nationwide. A third of FEMA staff have left or are planning to leave, with deeper budget cuts planned that threaten the agency’s ability to support communities as we approach hurricane and wildfire season.
Similar disastrous cuts are taking place across all agencies. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) fired all staff overseeing the LIHEAP program (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) that helps low-income Americans pay their energy bills. The Trump administration also canceled a $3 billion USDA program designed to help farmers adapt to and fight climate impacts such as flood, wildfires, and droughts.
While the private sector can in no way adequately make up for the loss of federal resources on these issues, it is incumbent upon corporations and financial institutions to rise to the challenge and help bolster adaptation and resilience efforts in their communities, across the country, and globally where they can.
We remain more committed than ever to our work, supporting and investing in innovators for adaptation and resilience.
Recent Updates
SF Climate Week
The Tailwind team just wrapped an energizing, packed week in San Francisco. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and meet new ones – especially at our event co-hosted with GARI (Global Adaptation and Resilience Investment Working Group), Morrison Foerster, and DBL Partners!
Tailwind’s SFCW Event: “New Solutions for Climate Resilient Investments”
Adaptation Finance Webinar with Climate Resilience for All
Tailwind and Climate Resilience for All hosted a webinar overviewing the recent Adaptation Finance Primer, funded by ClimateWorks Foundation. If you missed it, check out the recording to learn about the range of capital flows that support adaptation and resilience activities and understand our vision for the adaptation capital stack.
Climate Tech Connect
This past month, the team also headed to DC for the inaugural ClimateTech Connect conference. Dedicated to driving insurance technologies and finance flows towards climate resilience, this event brought together major insurance players (including Munich Re, Marsh McLennan, Milliman, Swiss Re, and beyond), investors, and startups.
Check out the key takeaways in Louie Woodall’s article on Climate Proof: “Adaptation Finance is Having its ‘Don’t Look Away’ Moment’”
Market Updates
- The 2025 Verizon Disaster Resilience Prize just launched
- Partnering with MIT Solve, it seeks exceptional solutions that strengthen disaster resilience in the United States.
- The CA Department of Insurance is hosting a “Wildfire Catastrophe Models Explained” webinar series – First session on May 9th, 10AM PT
- Learn about how cat models can benefit rate-setting and wildfire safety, how and what science & data is used in the models’ development, and beyond.
- The 2025 Urban Future Prize Competition is accepting applications
- It features an adaptation track with a $50K cash award and admission into the ACRE Incubator – New York’s longest-running and most successful climate tech program.
- RISE Resilience Innovations is accepting applications for its second challenge
- The Riverine Community Resilience Challenge II offers $1 Million and calls for innovations that protect flood-vulnerable communities in western Virginia.
- “Developer U” Climate Technology Workshop on June 12-13, 2025 in San Francisco
- The recurring two-day event brings together investors and senior executives of emerging cleantech hardware companies focused on commercialization. Participants develop strategies to manage project finance and accelerate the deployment of their products and services.
Good Reads
Wall Street is actively engaging in the topic of climate adaptation, as illustrated by several high-profile reports released this past month:
- JP Morgan: Unlocking Resilience through Strategic Climate Adaptation
- Morgan Stanley: Five Sectors that Cannot Escape Climate Change
- PRI: Assessing Physical Climate Risk in Private Markets: A Technical Guide
- Cornell ILR Global Labor Institute: Engaging with Companies on Just Resilience: An Investor Toolkit
Meanwhile, the UK government released its Climate Adaptation Research and Innovation Framework.
Last but not least, don’t miss CNN’s The Whole Story: Adaptation Nation: A Climate Crisis Survival Guide (video).
Upcoming Events
- May 6: Stanford Sustainability Accelerator – Stanford, CA – Emilie speaking
- May 6-9: Climate Robotics Summit – Virtual – Brooke speaking
- May 14-15: AdaptUnbound USA 2025 – New York, NY – Katie speaking, Brooke attending
- May 15: ULI Resilience Summit – Denver, CO – Emilie attending
- June 11: Climate Tech Connections (Activate Berkeley, Bakar Labs, Berkeley Startup Cluster) – Berkeley, CA – Emilie speaking
- June 21-29: London Climate Week
- June 23: Climate Adaptation: Technology Showcase & Reception(co-hosted by Tailwind, Mazarine, Climate Proof, and others)
- Other London Climate Action Week events forthcoming!
Did someone forward you this email? Sign up for Tailwind’s newsletter here!
If you’re a startup founder interested in connecting, please fill out this form.
