CDP Launches Google Backed AI Platform to Help Cities Turn Climate Risk Data into Action

By
Neil Perry
Content Director
Neil Perry is Content Director for Outlook Publishing.
- Content Director

New AI-powered tool combines climate hazard data, local government disclosures and investment insights to help cities, states and regions prioritise resilience projects, strengthen adaptation planning and improve access to climate finance.

CDP unveils AI-powered resilience planning platform

CDP has launched a new artificial intelligence-powered platform designed to help cities, states and regions better understand climate risks, identify adaptation priorities and connect resilience projects with potential funding opportunities.

The new CDP Adaptation & Action Explorer combines climate hazard data, government disclosures and AI-driven analysis in a single platform aimed at supporting evidence-based climate adaptation planning.

Built using disclosure data from more than 1,000 subnational governments across over 80 countries, representing around 16% of the global population, the platform seeks to address longstanding challenges around fragmented climate risk information and limited visibility of adaptation investment opportunities.


Bridging the gap between climate risk and resilience action

As climate-related impacts intensify, local and regional governments are facing growing pressure to improve resilience against hazards including flooding, extreme heat, drought and wildfires.

According to CDP, more than 94% of reporting governments disclosed climate hazard impacts in 2025. With urban populations continuing to grow, the organisation argues that strengthening resilience at the city and regional level is becoming increasingly important.

The platform has been developed to help decision-makers move beyond risk identification and towards practical adaptation planning by bringing together climate data, disclosed actions and project pipelines in a single interface.


AI and climate data combined in a single platform

The Adaptation & Action Explorer integrates CDP disclosure data with climate hazard information from Google Earth Engine and AI-driven analysis running on Google Cloud.

Users can assess climate risks by location, explore reported hazards and vulnerable sectors, review adaptation actions already underway, and identify climate-related projects seeking implementation or funding.

The platform also enables users to compare adaptation approaches adopted by peer governments facing similar challenges, helping to identify best practices and potential collaboration opportunities.

An integrated AI assistant allows users to interrogate datasets, surface location-specific insights and support planning and prioritisation processes.


Supporting climate finance and investment readiness

A central objective of the platform is improving access to climate adaptation finance.

CDP said that cities, states and regions reporting through its disclosure system identified 2,871 projects in 2025 requiring a combined $114.3 billion in investment.

By making adaptation pipelines more visible and easier to analyse, the organisation believes the platform can help governments better communicate funding needs and strengthen engagement with investors, development finance institutions and other partners.

“Access to finance remains one of the most significant barriers to climate adaptation for subnational governments,” said Katie Walsh, Global Director of Cities, States & Regions at CDP.

“In 2025, cities, states and regions reporting through CDP identified 2871 projects requiring a total of $114.3 billion in investment. The CDP Adaptation & Action Explorer brings this pipeline into focus – making it easier to surface investable projects, understand what peer governments are doing, identify funding needs, and connect opportunities with partners required to deliver them. This is about turning ambition into funded, on-the-ground-action.”


Developed through collaboration with Google

The platform was developed through a six-month Google.org Fellowship programme, which provided CDP with support from Google’s AI specialists, software engineers and user experience designers.

The initiative aimed to combine Google’s AI and cloud technologies with CDP’s environmental disclosure data to create an open-source tool capable of translating complex climate information into practical decision-making support.

Sherry Madera, CEO of CDP.

“Cities and regions don’t just need data – they need clarity on what to do next,” said Sherry Madera, CEO of CDP.

“This is a transformational tool that harnesses CDP’s powerful data to accelerate real-world action. It brings together risk, action, and opportunity in one place, helping subnational governments prioritize, plan, and communicate with confidence. By making data usable and actionable, we are supporting earth-positive decisions that translate into real-world resilience.”

“When we assisted CDP with this Fellowship, our goal was to show how AI can fundamentally transform complex data into actionable insights,” added Maggie Johnson, Global Head at Google.org.

“By applying Google’s AI and Cloud technology to CDP’s unparalleled environmental dataset, we’ve helped to develop an open-source platform that empowers subnational leaders to move decisively from climate risk to resilience.”

This article was produced by the editorial team at North America Outlook and published as part of the Outlook Publishing global network of B2B industry magazines.

Outlook Publishing delivers industry insights, company stories, and sector coverage across manufacturing, mining, construction, healthcare, supply chains, food production, and sustainability.

North America Outlook provides ongoing coverage of organisations and developments shaping industries across North America.

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Neil Perry is Content Director for Outlook Publishing.