As climate change accelerates, communities across the globe are grappling with its multifaceted impacts. From the coastal towns of Rhode Island in the United States to the bustling metropolis of Accra in Ghana, the challenges—and the urgent need for solutions—are strikingly similar. Rising sea levels, intensified storms, and shifting migration patterns are forcing governments, businesses, and individuals to rethink how they plan for the future. Yet, amid the adversity, new collaborations and career opportunities are emerging, driven by a generation eager to make a difference.
In Rhode Island, the effects of climate change are no longer a distant threat—they’re a present reality. According to the Providence Business News, sea levels in the state have risen nearly 11 inches since 1930, with a sharp uptick since 2016. The year 2024 was recorded as the warmest in Rhode Island’s history, a fact that underscores the urgency of the situation. “Climate change hazards are escalating,” Kimberly Korioth, chief resiliency officer with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), told PBN. “It is important that we act proactively in response to these demonstrated changes, rather than reactively.”
The physical threats are daunting—chronic coastal flooding, storm-surge inundation, saltwater intrusion, and the risk of infrastructure failure. But as Rosemarie Fusco, project manager at GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc., explained, the dangers aren’t just structural. “Structurally, the threat lies in disjointed planning efforts, under-resourced municipal governments, and the risk that reactive adaptation strategies can have unintentional consequences that increase losses or damage ecosystems,” Fusco said. She warned that failing to act now could lead to greater losses and damage in the future.
Rhode Island has responded with a flurry of on-the-ground projects. In 2024 alone, RIDEM supported five initiatives through its Climate Resilience Fund and thirteen more through the Ocean State Climate Adaptation & Resilience Fund. The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank chipped in, backing eight projects via Municipal Resilience Program Action Grants. These efforts range from green stormwater infrastructure and wetland restoration to infrastructure elevation and voluntary property acquisitions. “We’re seeing real momentum where municipalities are taking leadership roles,” Fusco noted. “Many towns and cities are no longer waiting for external direction—they’re coordinating directly with state agencies, private engineering firms, and local nonprofits to drive multiphase resilience planning forward.”
Collaboration is key. Public-private partnerships allow cities and towns to scale up projects and access specialized technical knowledge. Partnerships with academic institutions—such as Rhode Island Sea Grant, University of Rhode Island, Roger Williams University, Brown University, and others—help communities interpret climate models and refine adaptation designs. “These university partnerships are critical to grounding municipal projects in the best available science and creating data-driven justification for competitive grant applications,” Fusco emphasized.
Yet, as the demand for climate resilience expertise grows, the talent pipeline is struggling to keep up. The University of Rhode Island’s engineering and technology career fair in fall 2024 drew 117 companies and nearly 1,000 students, with about 60 firms specializing in civil engineering. According to Anthony Marchese, dean of URI’s College of Engineering, both private firms and state agencies need “hundreds” of civil and environmental engineers. The pay is attractive—hourly wages for environmental engineers in Rhode Island range from $37.25 to $54.79, with starting salaries between $72,000 and $76,000. The heavy/civil engineering workforce, which employed 1,968 people in 2022, is projected to grow by nearly 17% by 2032.
But there’s a catch. “We’re at a funny time. A lot of engineers are retiring and there’s just not the great body of interest of students to go into the field,” said Janet Baldwin, professor of engineering at Roger Williams University. “Some universities are pulling away from the field, as there are less research dollars. It’s up to schools like ours to produce the next generation.” Fusco echoed this concern, noting that many university programs lack the applied, interdisciplinary training needed for careers in climate resilience. “Fields like civil and environmental engineering often have slow or opaque entry points, and many students, especially those from under-resourced school systems, struggle to identify the available roles,” she said. Without clearer pathways and mentorship, there’s a risk of losing a generation of talent that could be leading the charge.
Still, there are bright spots. Recent graduates like Ashlee Lewandoski, who earned her degree in environmental engineering from Roger Williams University in May 2025, are stepping into roles with environmental consulting firms. “I’m passionate about preserving the environment,” Lewandoski said. “I want to apply sustainability principles that will solve problems today and in the future.” Others, like Kyle McElroy, who received her doctorate in marine affairs from the University of Rhode Island in December 2024, are working on resilience projects with RIDEM while seeking their ideal jobs in policy and planning. “Climate resilience is a pressing topic with potential for major social and economic impact if we do not act proactively,” Korioth said.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is highlighting a different facet of the climate challenge: mobility. At a press briefing in Accra following the Africa Climate Summit 2 (ACS2) in October 2025, the IOM called for climate change-induced mobility to be woven into the fabric of urban planning. According to The Business & Financial Times, climate change is reshaping migration patterns, especially in cities where people move due to floods, droughts, heatwaves, and other environmental shocks.
The IOM’s pilot project with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) aims to recognize mobility as a legitimate adaptation strategy. The goal? To empower residents to choose whether to stay, move, or rebuild in the face of climate impacts. Project Manager Eric Kwame Akomanyi explained, “From the study, one thing that came up strongly was issues around data. It is a problem for every planner that we need to build a body of evidence to provide a targeted response. So, definitely, we are going to focus more on building a database that will factor issues of climate change, gender dimensions and seasonal mobility.”
The project emphasizes coordinated urban planning, institutional strengthening, data-driven evidence, and dedicated resources. Training city staff on the climate-mobility nexus, gender-sensitive planning, and trauma-informed relocation procedures is a core component. The AMA has established a Migrant Desk to collect data on migration reasons, including climate-linked migration patterns, and set up a multi-stakeholder coordination platform for joint planning and accountability. Recommendations from IOM include integrating migration management into climate resilience, supporting sustainable relocation from high-risk zones, and developing robust data systems to monitor internal mobility related to climate impacts. Financial mechanisms within international climate finance frameworks, aligned with climate justice principles, are also highlighted as essential.
Whether in Rhode Island or Accra, the message is clear: climate resilience requires a holistic, inclusive approach. It demands not only technical solutions and infrastructure upgrades but also the political will, institutional capacity, and human talent to drive change. As cities and communities confront rising seas and shifting populations, their ability to adapt will depend on the partnerships they forge and the people they inspire to lead the way.
