Learn to create and lead actionable plans for addressing climate change
Background
Communities across the country and around the world are increasingly interested in mitigating their contributions to the climate crisis and adapting to extreme heat, wildfire, and flooding. Getting there takes more than technical know-how. It takes a climate action plan (CAP), a road map that guides a local community (municipality, business, or faith group) toward its emission-reduction goals while building resilience to hazards driven by climate change, and it takes leaders who know how to bring people together around that plan. Groups of all sizes have a role to play in climate mitigation, but there's a real shortage of training that builds both the technical skills and the leadership capacity to see a plan through from first draft to real-world implementation.
About the course
The Certificate in Climate Action Planning (CAP) is a fully online program designed to help individuals create and implement climate action plans. Through engaging live classes, practical assignments, and expert presenters, you'll build the technical skills, from identifying sources of GHG pollution to conducting vulnerability assessment, and the collaborative leadership tools to mobilize community members and stakeholders around shared emission-reduction and resiliency goals.
What you'll learn
- Lead Effectively: Build communication strategies for working with community stakeholders across politically diverse environments.
- Assess Vulnerability: Evaluate climate risks using modeling tools while incorporating equity and environmental justice.
- Measure Emissions: Understand the fundamentals of greenhouse gas accounting and how they inform climate decisions.
- Build a Plan: Turn climate data and community priorities into actionable steps toward a climate action plan.
Who should participate
- Urban, municipal, and environmental planners (APA/AICP credits provided)
- Consultants who support municipalities
- Tribal members seeking tools to help their communities become more resilient.
- University, business, non-profit and parish employees looking to develop climate action plans
- Educators interested in growing their knowledge of climate action planning
About your instructor
Kara Odegard is a practiced communicator, stakeholder manager, and community leader with over 25 years of experience across multinational, national, and local organizations. Throughout her career, Kara has developed a broad skill set and a talent for translating complex ideas into down-to-earth language and processes. She led the City of Spokane's 2021 Sustainability Action Plan, the city's first comprehensive climate action plan, using a collaborative leadership model and a team of 40+ subject matter experts. The plan was co-created with a large team of community stakeholders and now serves as a template for other municipalities.
A founding partner of the sustainability consultancy firm Measure Meant, Kara holds Master's in Leadership for Sustainability from the University of Vermont, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and a BA in English from the University of Washington. Learn more about Kara.
Program details
- Duration: 4.5 months/ 18 weeks - October through February, annually
- Format: Weekly classes via ZOOM on Tuesdays, 4:00-5:30 p.m. Pacific Time
- Time commitment: Learners spend 3-5 hours per week of reading and work outside of class sessions.
- Credits: This is a non-degree course that has been approved for 70 APA/AICP CM credits, 70 OSPI clock hours for WA State educators, and 7 CE Credits.
- Cost: $3,500
- 30-50%-off discounts, partial scholarships, and payment plans are available. (Click link below for details)
- Prerequisites: No prior environmental/climate/sustainability knowledge or experience is required. We recommend that you have at least five (5) years of any kind of work experience (which can include jobs held during high school), OR a Bachelor's degree.