Don't start from scratch, draw on evidence, tools & guidance that already exist

Identifying potential public health risks arising from hotter, drier summers © Climate UK

There has been an enormous investment in tools, data and resources which aim to support decision-makers and decision-making in responding to climate impacts and extreme weather, providing many possible resources that can support local responses to climate change. However it may be difficult to know where to start or to be clear how these tools can address issues like social vulnerability and support equitable responses to the issues. Many local governmental and non-governmental organisations have undertaken activities, and learning from their experiences can be a good starting point.

Tools can take many forms – from workshop models to online mapping systems. There are a number of tools available, some providing an overview of adaptation, some designed specifically to cover individual steps in detail. The kind of issues tools can help with are: awareness raising with different organisations; learning about the impacts of extreme weather; and understanding how to support community resilience.

This section primarily focuses on tools and resources to support climate adaptation but a number of resources pertaining to cold weather, fuel poverty and climate mitigation are also listed in the Resources index page. Details are provided under each separate resource on how it might be used for addressing issues of social vulnerability and developing responses which help to reduce inequalities.

Users of this resource should be aware of some of the inherent limitations of decision-support tools. Tools are dependent on the capacity of the person using them to understand what they want to get out of the process and how the tools should be used. Some tools have the potential to reinforce the inequalities between people and places that the information in this website is designed to help you to reduce - look under the 'Questions to Ask' on Section 4. How can we do it? on the toolbar above. Tools cannot make decisions for you, they can only support your decision-making process. See the Resources index page for the list of tools and resources.