GIS for Climate Action

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Overview

A changing climate creates complex, interrelated, and inherently geographic challenges. Because it uses location as a common thread, GIS technology is uniquely suited to create clarity from myriad data sources and illuminate climate-related risks, opportunities, and sustainable solutions. Discover how GIS is being used today to understand and prepare for a future that requires more resilient communities, systems, and infrastructure. You'll explore the latest ArcGIS capabilities and learn how to create insight that drives positive action.

Goals

Explore climate change indicators and risks and evaluate options to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
Identify potential risks of flooding and other climate-related hazards on exposed areas over time.
Evaluate climate change impacts on vulnerable populations and plan adaptive strategies to address climate change hazards.
Create a dashboard to monitor climate data and inspire your audiences to action using engaging stories.

Taught by

Dawn Wright, Jeff Baranyi, Jessica Bello, Jonathan Foley, Este Geraghty, Katharine Hayhoe, Lorien Innes, Steve Kopp, Pauline Okeyo and Erin Sanborn

Reviews

4.9 rating, based on 16 Class Central reviews

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Eston Spain

I've taken this course twice now. Lots of cool GIS tricks to sharpen and home in on. There were issues with the exercises in the fall-2023 class that have been fixed in the spring-2024 class. I highly recommend this MOOC course on climate change, and any other Esri MOOC.
Anonymous

Amazing course for both beginners or GIS intermediates. Explores many ArcGIS Pro and Online tools with a focus on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. Super well prepared materials + free access to ArcGIS Pro for the duration of the course
Erika Morgan

I loved this course! I am NOT a natural GIS user, and have never touched anything "GIS related" before (except to watch). I generally stay far away from "big data", and I work very slowly through technical reading and assignments. Still, this c…

I loved this course! I am NOT a natural GIS user, and have never touched anything "GIS related" before (except to watch). I generally stay far away from "big data", and I work very slowly through technical reading and assignments.

Still, this course was so interesting and well presented - the exercises are very well documented, with "hints" to show students how each step is supposed to look when done correctly. The exercises themselves are challenging but awesome - so relevant in both subject matter, skills and the specific Esri tools. It was a lot of work, many hours, and still very satisfying to complete each assignment.

Finally, It gives me such hope, as a long-time climate activist, frantic about the climate work still ahead, to know that Esri makes this course and these fabulous tools available to non-technical people like me. For Free. May thousands of people take this course!
Mariela

This MOOC has been very revealing for me. I have a solid background in agronomy and for me, until I took the MOOC, climate change must have been written in stone, but I learned that there are other variables that are taken into consideration when addressing climate change. Thanks to the MOOC, I have been encouraged to generate an HRI within the final master's project for Esri Spain. I hope I can put into practice everything I have learned and be able to pass on what I have learned.
Anonymous

Every moment spent on this was worth it. The experience was wonderful, and I thoroughly enjoyed each exercise. It not only expanded my technical skills but also reinforced my commitment to using technology for environmental conservation. The insights gained will undoubtedly guide my future endeavors in protecting our oceans and fostering resilient coastal ecosystems. To the Esri Academy team, thank you for all the hard work you put into this MOOC—it truly paid off.
Anonymous

Disappointing. Narrowly avoided 2* review It seemed like the course was rushed into production, with errors, and a required software upgrade early in the course, which wasn't available at the start of that section. Suport from the Esri team in th…

Disappointing. Narrowly avoided 2* review

It seemed like the course was rushed into production, with errors, and a required software upgrade early in the course, which wasn't available at the start of that section.

Suport from the Esri team in the Forum was not apparent, relying wholly on other delegates.

Extremely challenging for inexperienced ArcGIS users. Easy to make minor errors; much harder to find out what the problem was. Some exercises, particularly in the early sections, I was not able to resolve the problems and complete. From the forum posts, others clearly had similar difficulties.

This was my second MOOC. Had it been my first, it would have been my last. In fact I probably wouldn't have persisted beyond the early problems to complete it.
Anonymous

If you're interested in learning the various ways that GIS is being applied to the global challenges brought about from climate change, this is the course for you!

It was very well done and I learned a lot from the exercises. Thank you to the Esri MOOC team for the course. Bravo!
Anonymous

This exemplary course, tailored for beginners, effectively illustrates the application of GIS in addressing the pressing issue of climate change. The incorporation of a StoryMap to encapsulate the 6-week program is commendable, as are the well-crafted short videos that offer a convenient alternative for those with time constraints. The course not only covers visualization but also delves into spatial modeling, web stories, web apps, and the assessment of mitigation strategies, making it an ideal starting point for beginners.
Anonymous

Esri's GIS for Climate Action MOOC has been an incredible journey, reshaping how I perceive the power of GIS in planning, especially for regions vulnerable to climate issues, like the Philippines. From unraveling the intricacies of visualizing climate data to crafting strategies for risk reduction and action planning, each module felt like a compass guiding me towards impactful change.
Anonymous

An excellent course with lots of good examples of how to use GIS to help solve our collective , and serious, climate change problem. The use of a StoryMap to review and summarize the 6-week course was brilliant. The short videos throughout the course were very well done and are hopefully available for those that do not have the time to take the whole course.
Anonymous

Beginner's knowledge of how to install ArcGIS Pro is pretty much all you need. The course is taken step by step with interactive forums and accessible staff and fellow students. The videos are clear and the tasks are no challenge to computer users. Easy to follow for even GIS beginners! Already recommended!
Marcus John Toyne

This is a fantastic course with relevant, real-world examples of how GIS can help inform the decision-making processes that we need to tackle climate change. It's coming back next year so put it in your calendar to check it out.
Anonymous

This course was awesome and suggest to beginer start with this course. This course offer not only visualization also spatial modelling, webstories, webapp, assessing mitigation strategies too.
Anonymous

An excellent and interesting course. I benefited a lot from this course. I acquired many skills and sure I will participate in future MOOC courses.
Anonymous

Very good course, which draws attention to the issue of climate change, with very useful analysis tools, although a little difficult for beginners.
Anonymous

The content is relevant to the modern world which is affected by change in weather patterns and its hazards.