Climate Risk Assessment
Determine the project's future climate risks using a climate-resource tool. Document and mitigate identified risks (stringency rises by tier).
Spec
Applies uniformly from Certified upward.
Scope
Site-specific climate risks over the project's expected lifetime (typically 30-60 years), identified using a recognized climate-projection tool.
Requirements
Assessment + mitigation
- 01.
Run the project address through a climate-risk tool such as NOAA's Climate Explorer, FEMA's National Risk Index, or the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit.
- 02.
Identify the top risks for the project location — typical categories: extreme heat days, wildfire, riverine/coastal flooding, hurricane/severe wind, drought, freeze events.
- 03.
Document a mitigation strategy for each identified risk. The stringency rises by tier: Certified must mitigate the highest risk; Silver and above must mitigate progressively more.
Documentation
Evidence the inspector / Institute will need.
- 01.
Climate-risk report exported from NOAA Climate Explorer, FEMA NRI, or equivalent tool, dated within 12 months of registration.
- 02.
Mitigation plan listing each risk and the specific design or operational response (e.g. "high heat → install 200A panel for future heat-pump upgrade; specify R-21 walls").
Guidance
Why this is the first requirement
Climate risk drives many of the downstream Energy and Moisture decisions in this standard — sizing cooling for the higher peak days, hardening the envelope against wildfire, raising the foundation in flood-prone areas. Doing the assessment up front makes the rest of the certification easier to defend.
Tools
- NOAA Climate Explorer →
Free, downscaled climate projections by U.S. county or station.
- FEMA National Risk Index →
County-level hazard scoring across 18 natural hazards, including expected annual loss.
- U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit →
Sector-specific guidance and case studies for resilience planning.
Example — A typical risk → mitigation chain
Project in central Texas: top risks come back as extreme heat (highest), drought (high), and severe wind/hail (high). Mitigation: oversized HVAC return + R-21 walls + cool roof for heat; xeriscape + rainwater catchment for drought; impact-rated windows + reinforced roof anchors for wind. Each mitigation aligns with a separate GreenStar requirement, so the climate report becomes the design narrative.