Policy Pathways for Equitable Climate Adaptation
Lead: Melissa O. Tier
Counselor: Michael Oppenheimer
In her dissertation, MACH-affiliated researcher Melissa O. Tier investigates how environmental justice (EJ) concepts can be better incorporated into climate adaptation policies across and within federal, state, and local governance levels. Her research includes analyzing how the Biden Administration’s Justice40 initiative influenced federal climate adaptation grant programs, particularly in how agencies adjusted their program criteria to meet EJ goals. She also examines flood-prone property buyout programs in the MACH region to understand how different funding sources shape equity strategies, and surveys both residents and municipal staff in New Jersey to learn how they perceive public assistance programs for EJ and climate adaptation. Finally, she is collaborating with MACH colleagues on an initiative with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop and implement evidence-based policy on compound flooding in New Jersey and New York.
This project is led by a MACH research affiliate who does not receive direct financial support from NSF award ICER-2103754.
Other Projects in the Adaptation Strategy Design Focus Area
Related Products
Publications
Tier, M. O. (2025). A Brief Look at Environmental Justice Federal Policy in the U.S. Rutgers University, New Jersey State Policy Lab.
https://policylab.rutgers.edu/publication/a-brief-look-at-environmental-justice-federal-policy-in-the-u-s/
Tier, M. O. (2024). Equity and Environmental Justice in Regional Flood Mobility Programs. Rutgers University, New Jersey State Policy Lab.
https://policylab.rutgers.edu/publication/equity-and-environmental-justice-in-regional-flood-mobility-programs/
Tier, M., Oppenheimer, M., & Nordenson, G. (2021). Memorandum on Federal Priorities for Climate Adaptation. Princeton University, Center for Policy Research on Energy & the Environment.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xRtFiEtBPLiP1SQqQ3Hq8B8moz0LWruZ/view
Presentations
Tier, M. (2025). Examining the impact of multi-level funding structures on flood relocation programs: Case studies in the U.S. mid-Atlantic. Panel session presented at MR2025: Mobility, Adaptation, and Wellbeing in a Changing Climate. https://adaptation.climate.columbia.edu/sites/adaptation.climate.columbia.edu/files/content/abstracts/Abstracts%20-%20Buyouts%20and%20Community%20Relocation.pdf
Tier, M., Weber, E., & Oppenheimer, M. (2024). Multi-level climate policy coherence: NJ, NY, and the federal government. 2024 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Annual Conference. Seattle, WA.
https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.acsp.org/resource/collection/59C8DA2D-F881-4A31-8980-FC9A8E83D780/ACSP2024_Bk_of_Abstracts_v3.pdf
Tier, M. (2025). Past climate adaptation policy learning among U.S. federal agencies: Preserving and improving administrative governance. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 2025. New Orleans, LA. https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1986752
Tier, M. (2025). An international comparison of environmental justice preferences in urban climate adaptation flood policy. Adaptation Futures.
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024AGUFMOS53C0794T/abstract