Helping countries and cities counter the risks of a changing climate

Increasingly, communities, governments and corporations must cope with the impact of climate extremes. The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) works to enhance society's understanding of climate change adaptation to better inform investment and equitable action. With free and open-source tools from ND-GAIN, leaders have data-driven knowledge to better assess communities based upon critical environmental, economic and social sectors.

Country Index

Country Index

Free and open source, the ND-GAIN Country Index uses two decades of data across 45 indicators to rank 185 countries annually based upon their vulnerability and their readiness to successfully adapt.
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Global Urban Climate Adaptation

Global Urban Climate Adaptation

The Global Urban Climate Assessment (GUCA) is a 12-city pilot decision-support tool by ND-GAIN aimed at tracking the progress of urban climate resilience with data on hazards, sensitivity, shock absorption, and adaptive capacity.
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U.S. Urban Adaptation

U.S. Urban Adaptation

ND-GAIN’s Urban Adaptation Assessment measures 278 U.S. cities’ climate risks and social vulnerabilities at the city and subcity level. UAA climate hazards include flooding, extreme heat, extreme cold, drought, and sea-level rise.
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ND-GAIN Highlights

ND-GAIN launches the Global Urban Climate Assessment Pilot Global

ND-GAIN launches the Global Urban Climate Assessment Pilot

ND-GAIN's Global Urban Climate Assessment (GUCA) pilot is a decision-support tool that offers leaders a way to understand and compare city vulnerabilities, assess adaptation plans, and develop resilience.
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ND-GAIN reaches 2.5 million users Users

ND-GAIN reaches 2.5 million users

For more than a decade, ND-GAIN has served as a pioneer in climate adaptation decision support tools. Over the past 12 years, ND-GAIN tools have been viewed over 2.5 million times and utilized by a diverse portfolio of sectors within national and international organizations.
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ND-GAIN Adaptation Briefs: Showcasing Global Progress and Strategies for Climate Resilience GLOBAL

ND-GAIN Adaptation Briefs: Showcasing Global Progress and Strategies for Climate Resilience

The ND-GAIN team is proud to release a new Adaptation Brief in its ongoing series of highlighting what works in climate interventions across the globe.
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Media Mentions

State and Trends of Climate Adaptation Finance in Small Island Developing States

October 01, 2025

Adaptation finance is highly concentrated, with 10 SIDS receiving 67% of tracked adaptation finance. Furthermore, international public adaptation finance flows to SIDS have no significant correlation to climate vulnerability, as assessed by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) country vulnerability scores.

Monsoon flooding has killed hundreds in Pakistan – climate change is pushing the rainy season from blessing to looming catastrophe

August 25, 2025

Pakistan is among the countries hit hardest by weather-related disasters over the past two decades, yet it ranks 150th globally out of 192 countries when it comes to being ready to deal with disasters, according to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative’s assessments.

Philippines ranks 116th in Climate Vulnerability Index

August 14, 2025

The Philippines ranked 116th out of 187 countries with a score of 43.4 out of 100 in the latest edition of the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative’s (ND-GAIN) Country Index by the University of Notre Dame. The country is one of the most vulnerable and least ready in the region when it comes to climate-related challenges.

ND-GAIN helps to prevent the avoidable and adapt to the unpreventable in this new era of climate extremes