Climate adaptation leaders are urging governments and communities to place human mobility at the center of climate resilience planning as extreme heat, rising energy costs, and worsening environmental conditions continue to reshape communities across the United States.
The discussion took place during the 2026 National Adaptation Forum, one of the country’s largest gatherings focused on climate adaptation and resilience. More than 900 participants, including government officials, Tribal representatives, nonprofit organizations, researchers, public health experts, and community leaders, attended the event to explore strategies for responding to climate-related risks.
A major theme of this year’s forum was climate mobility — the many ways people respond to environmental change through relocation, migration, or adaptation in place. Organizers emphasized that climate mobility is increasingly becoming a central issue in equitable climate adaptation planning rather than a secondary consequence of environmental change.
The event featured collaboration between organizations including the Kresge Foundation, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, ICLEI-USA, and The Nature Conservancy.
Speakers and participants discussed how climate-driven migration is already affecting communities differently across regions. Coastal communities are grappling with rising sea levels and relocation decisions, while western states are reassessing rebuilding strategies in wildfire-prone areas. Other regions experiencing population decline are exploring opportunities to become future destinations for climate migrants.
At the forum’s opening plenary, speakers including Abrahm Lustgarten, Adelle Thomas, and Aftab Pureval highlighted the growing risks associated with shrinking habitable land and intensifying climate pressures.
Experts stressed that adaptation strategies must account for both people who choose to relocate and those who remain in vulnerable areas. They argued that equitable climate planning requires giving communities meaningful choices about staying or moving, while avoiding “maladaptation” — investments that fail to match long-term environmental realities.
The discussions also emphasized the need for stronger housing, infrastructure, and community investment policies to support both existing residents and future climate migrants in receiving communities.
Participants concluded that climate mobility is rapidly becoming one of the defining challenges of climate resilience policy, requiring coordinated approaches that integrate environmental planning, social equity, infrastructure investment, and community-led decision-making.
