• CDP’s new Adaptation & Action Explorer uses AI, Google Earth Engine, and Google Cloud to help local governments assess climate risks and identify adaptation priorities.
• The platform draws on CDP disclosures from more than 1,000 subnational governments across over 80 countries, representing 16% of the global population.
• More than 94% of disclosing governments reported being impacted by climate hazards in 2025, raising pressure to convert resilience plans into financeable projects.

Cities Face Rising Climate Risk And A Data Gap

CDP has launched an AI-powered platform to help cities, states, and regions turn climate risk data into practical adaptation plans and finance-ready projects.

The global environmental disclosure nonprofit announced the Adaptation & Action Explorer, a new tool built to help subnational governments assess climate hazards, prioritize resilience measures, and communicate investment needs more clearly to funders.

The launch comes as local governments face growing exposure to floods, extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and other climate threats. More than 94% of governments disclosing through CDP reported climate hazard impacts in 2025. These risks are becoming more urgent as urban populations grow. More than 55% of the world’s population already lives in cities. The UN expects that share to reach nearly 70% by 2050.

For city leaders, the problem is no longer just identifying climate risk. It is making that risk understandable, comparable, and actionable for budget holders, investors, development banks, and implementation partners.

AI Meets Local Climate Disclosure

The Adaptation & Action Explorer was developed with support from Google.org through its Fellowship program. It brings together CDP’s local government disclosure data, climate hazard mapping from Google Earth Engine, and AI analysis running on Google Cloud.

The platform is based on CDP data from more than 1,000 subnational governments across more than 80 countries. Together, these jurisdictions represent 16% of the global population.

CDP said the tool is designed to make climate risk and resilience data easier to use. Much of that information has historically been fragmented, technical, and hard to interpret without specialist expertise. That has slowed adaptation planning and made it harder for governments to show funders where capital is needed.

Through the platform, users can explore reported climate hazards by location. They can also review at-risk sectors, vulnerable populations, and barriers to adaptation. Map-based hazard data from Google Earth Engine covers eight major climate hazards, helping users see where risks are most acute.

The tool also allows users to examine adaptation plans, government targets, actions already underway, and climate-related projects that need implementation or financing.

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From Risk Mapping To Investment Pipelines

For investors and development finance institutions, the tool is aimed at one of the hardest parts of local climate finance: project visibility.

Many cities have clear resilience needs but lack the capacity to translate them into investment-ready pipelines. Others may have strong disclosure records but no consistent way to benchmark their priorities against peers facing similar risks.

The Adaptation & Action Explorer seeks to close that gap. Users can identify adaptation measures disclosed by governments with comparable hazard exposure. That could help local authorities adopt peer-tested approaches and build stronger cases for funding.

The AI assistant embedded in the platform allows users to query complex datasets and uncover location-specific insights. It is intended to support evidence-based planning and reduce the technical burden on local teams.

Adam Elman Linkin said: “The world’s biggest climate challenge isn’t a lack of data; it’s turning that data into funded action. That’s why I’m thrilled to see Google’s partnership with CDP come to life with the launch of the Adaptation & Action Explorer!

Subnational governments face a massive hurdle when translating complex environmental data into the hard evidence needed to unlock climate finance. This new open-source tool directly addresses that gap. Supported by a six-month pro-bono Google.org Fellowship, the platform seamlessly integrates CDP’s unmatched disclosure data with Google Earth Engine and Google Cloud AI.

It empowers local leaders to accurately diagnose specific climate hazards, pinpoint peer-tested solutions, and build investment-ready resilience plans.

Huge congratulations to the entire CDP team and the Google Fellows who poured their expertise into bringing this transformational tool to life.”

What Executives And Investors Should Watch

For C-suite leaders, the launch points to a broader shift in climate governance. Adaptation is moving from policy language into data infrastructure, capital planning, and public-private finance.

Cities and regions are often on the front line of climate impacts. They manage infrastructure, public health, housing, transport, and emergency response. Yet many still lack the tools needed to translate climate exposure into investable resilience plans.

For investors, better local data could improve risk assessment and project origination. It may also support more targeted partnerships with municipalities, states, and regions seeking adaptation finance.

The bigger test will be whether tools like this can move beyond diagnosis. Climate risk platforms will matter most if they help governments secure funding, design credible projects, and protect communities before losses mount.

As climate hazards intensify, the quality of local adaptation planning will shape national resilience. CDP’s new tool gives governments a clearer route from disclosure to action. The next challenge is turning that clarity into capital.

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