USDA Celebrates 10 Years of Climate Hubs as Biden-Harris Administration Leads Historic Climate Agenda

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is highlighting how these regional climate centers – bolstered by President Biden’s historic climate agenda – are helping farmers, ranchers, forest landowners and communities address the threats of climate change. The Climate Hubs are an important piece of USDA’s bold agenda to address climate change, complementing investments of $19.5 billion through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest-ever climate investment, to help agricultural producers adopt climate-smart practices, $1 billion to the Urban and Community Forestry Program to combat extreme heat and climate change, and $3.1 billion to expand markets for climate-smart commodities through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities.

“When we announced the creation of the Regional Hubs for Risk Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change 10 years ago, our goal was to address the risks posed by intensifying climate change,” said Vilsack. “Today, as those risks are increasingly prevalent across the nation and the globe, the need for science-based, climate information and assistance is more important than ever. The Biden-Harris administration is committed to tackling the climate crisis and meeting the urgent and critical need for climate adaptation and mitigation, and USDA is continuing to support those efforts by guiding climate solutions for working lands.”

Originally, 10 regional locations were established across the United States. In May 2023, an International Climate Hub was added to share best practices and collaborate with international partners and improve the world's ability to mitigate and adapt to climate.

Today, the Climate Hubs form a network of more than 120 climate researchers and communicators who work across the USDA and with partners to support climate-informed decisions. The Hubs are a collaboration of several USDA agencies, including the Agricultural Research Service, Forest Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service, and act as force multipliers for USDA’s climate science and services extending the Department’s reach. The Hubs also coordinate with the U.S. Geological Survey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which each have regional climate change organizations.

Supporting both the National Climate Resilience Framework and Federal Framework and Action Plan for Climate Services, the Climate Hubs:

Embed climate resilience into planning and management by promoting a better understanding of climate change impacts. For example, many experts from the Climate Hubs contributed to the Fifth National Climate Assessment. Accelerate development of innovative science-based solutions. For example, to promote climate-informed reforestation, the Northwest Climate Hub supported the update and expansion of the Seedlot Selection Tool and developed training materials to help forest managers match seedlots with planting sites based on climate information.

Equip communities with the information needed to deploy adaptation strategies. For example, the Southwest Climate Hub partnered with Indigenous farmers and ranchers to enhance agricultural adaptation to drought and climate change.

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