We think of climate adaptation and mitigation as: adaptation manages the unavoidable, and mitigation avoids the unmanageable.

Our adaptation actions (also called our resiliency actions) aim to adapt life in a changing climate. Our climate is already changing, and our adaptation work focuses on addressing the problems and risks that our community faces. Our mitigation work (which includes reducing emissions) aims to reduce our impact by decreasing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

​While we try to separate our work into one category or another, we do acknowledge that there is quite often overlap between individual efforts; our "adaption actions" may also serve as "mitigation actions" and vise versa.
Resiliency & Adaptation
Our climate adaptation work includes efforts to address the climate impacts we're already experiencing, and ensure Missoula builds the resiliency needed to protect those most vulnerable and meet the challenges of a changing future.
Our Summer Smart program works to keep the community healthy and informed during the hotter months and wildfire season. In this, we share information on air quality levels, help the community breathe clean air at home, and more.
Resiliency Planning is another aspect of our adaptation work. Since 2018, we’ve been working with the City of Missoula and Missoula County to lead Climate Ready Missoula, a plan with 77 strategies to address climate resiliency in Missoula. In May of 2020, this plan was adopted by both the city and the county. Read the full plan here.
Human health impacts associated with climate change are a significant part of the work that we do. In addition to providing resources to better understand how wildfire smoke impacts health, we’ve also started conversations on smoke’s affect on mental health, and more
In order to foster more rich conversations about climate change, we also aim to deepen the connection between climate change and art. To facilitate this, we hosted a virtual art show during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, and hosted an open air art show in 2016.
Explore more resources on the confluence of climate change and health!
Mitigation & Reducing Emissions
Our climate mitigation work includes efforts to reduce Missoula's contribution to climate change and catalyze the building blocks of a low-carbon, truly sustainable community that is accessible to all.
We’ve created a carbon offset program, Missoula’s Footprint Fund, which aims to reduce carbon emissions in one place to compensate for emissions elsewhere. The program is designed to help low-income households fund energy efficiency projects, allowing individuals to offset their impacts while making a positive change in the community.
One of the main pillars of our mitigation work is increasing clean electricity supply. To do this, we have been promoting the installation of solar panels in our community through our solar smart program, created a community event around clean energy, we helped pass the 100% clean energy resolution for Missoula, crafted stories of community members utilizing clean energy, and more.
The other main component of the mitigation work we do is reducing the demand for fossil fuels. We’ve supported energy conservation efforts, advocated for smart growth, worked to reduce the lifecycle emissions of community buildings, and more.
In 2017, we co-authored the Missoula Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory.
To plan future efforts and keep track of the progress we’ve made, we led the 2015 Climate Smart Community Action Plan.
We’ve created financing tools to help assist this climate mitigation work.
Explore more resources on forests, zero waste, and transportation!